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Published by lib.kolejkomunitikb, 2023-03-03 19:44:05

Classic Rock UK - 2023

Classic Rock UK

26 Led Zeppelin “We were buccaneer musicians, ready to try anything. Houses Of The Holy was the result.” 8 The Dirt Ozzy Osbourne announces no more tours; Mick Fleetwood says Fleetwood Mac are “done”… Welcome back Delain, Don Powell and The Hold Steady. Say hello to Hillbilly Vegas and Laura Cox. Say goodbye to Tom Verlaine, Van Conner, Barrett Srong, Anthony ‘Top’ Topham… 20 The Stories Behind The Songs Jellyfish 22 Q&A Robert Fripp 24 Six Things You Need To Know About… Empyre 26 Led Zeppelin The making of Houses Of The Holy, the album that signposted the way forward for a band now operating at their peak. 38 The Answer Back from hiatus with new album Sundowners, and hoping to soon be bathing in the warm glow of success. 44 David Crosby We look back at the life and times of the man whose music was part of the glittering soundtrack to a golden era. 52 David Bowie For David Bowie in 1983, art rock and clown suits were in thepast – this is the story of Let’s Dance. Cover Feature 56 Deep Purple Had Montreux Casino not burned down at the time, there would be no Smoke On The Water. And no Machine Head album as we know it. 64 The Hot List We look at some of the essential new rock tracks you need to hear and the artists to have on your radar. This month they include Rival Sons, Fantastic Negrito, The Cold Stares, Robert Jon & The Wreck, Crown Lands, The Heavy, Arielle and more… 73 Reviews New albums from Måneskin, Roger Waters, The Answer, The Winery Dogs, The Long Ryders, Fantastic Negrito, Delain…Reissues from Genesis, Mötley Crüe, The Strokes, Motörhead, 10cc, The Auteurs, Bernie Marsden, Ten Years After, Trapeze… DVDs,films and books on Alice Cooper, Nik Turner, Holly Knight, Tears For Fears, Carole King… Live reviews of Black Stone Cherry, The Darkness, Red Hot Chili Peppers, DropkickMurphys… 88 Buyer’s Guide Queensrÿche 91 Live We preview tours by Steve Hillage and Blackberry Smoke. Plus gig listings – find out who’s playing where and when. 106 The Soundtrack Of My Life Steel Panther CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 5 SUBSCRIBE AND GET A FREE GIFT p80 APRIL 2023 ISSUE 312 GETTY


WELCOME This month’s contributors PAUL BRANNIGAN For this issue Paul spoke to fellow County Down men The Answer about their comeback album Sundowners (p38). Paul has written books on Metallica, Eddie Van Halen, Dave Grohl and Lemmy, and recommends you spend this month’s pocket money on Supercluster by Therapy? frontman Andy Cairns’s new group JAAW, or Eliza Clark’s second novel Penance. SAM WILLIAMS Sam is one half of creative studio Magictorch. Based in Brighton, Magictorch began life in 1999 and have been keeping busy with illustration, motion design, design and all things in between ever since. Introduced to the mighty Led Zep from an early age, Sam was more than happy to try on a Hipgnosis hat for our feature opener (p27)! Check out magictorch.com for more of their work. SIMON HARPER Upon hearing the sad news that David Crosby had died, we asked Simon – who’d spoken with Crosby for CR last year - if he’d like to pay tribute in this issue (p44). The founder of Clash magazine, we learned, was in the midst of a deep mourning period, having immersed himself in all things Croz, celebrating the glorious canon of work left behind. Simon said yes without hesitation. His favourite Croz song is Déjà Vu. Subscribe! Save money, get your issues early and get exclusive subscriber benefits. Visit www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk for our latest subscription offers. ow many times does a freak accident change the course of hard rock history? Not all that often, I’d wager. But had a suspended ceiling in a Swiss casino not caught fire, then Deep Purple’s sixth studio album would have been a very different beast altogether. I’m referring, of course, to Machine Head, and its signature song Smoke On The Water. From page 56, discover the inside story on the making of a true classic, in the band’s own words. This month marks the 50th birthday of Led Zeppelin’s fifth album, so we’re celebrating it this issue. I mean, how on earth did they try to follow up Led Zeppelin IV? Turn to page 26 to find out… We also talk to The Answer (p38), who return with a new album after a seven-year hiatus; we venture behind the scenes of the making of David Bowie’s Let’s Dance album (p52); sit down for a chat with Robert Fripp (p22); we pay tribute to the late, great David Crosby (p44), who passed away just after we’d gone to print with our last issue; and there’s much, much more for you to get stuck into. Until next month… Siân Llewellyn, Editor CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 7 SCAN TO GET OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER THE COVER: HEILEMANN / CAMERA PRESS


LC 2112 Cover photo: Heilemann / Camera Press Thanks this issue to Steve Newman, (layout) Steve Mitchell (typography), Sam Williams @ Magictorch (image manipulation), Chris Saggers & Gary Stuckey (image manipulation) Printed by William Gibbons & Sons Ltd on behalf of Future. Distributed by Marketforce, 2nd Floor, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU. For enquiries please email [email protected] ISSN 1464783 Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA Editorial Editor Siân Llewellyn Art Editor Darrell Mayhew Deputy Editor Polly Glass Production Editor Paul Henderson Reviews Editor Ian Fortnam News/Lives Editor Dave Ling Online Editor Fraser Lewry Content Director (Music) Scott Rowley Head Of Design (Music) Brad Merrett Advertising Media packs are available on request Commercial Director Clare Dove [email protected] Advertising Sales Director (Music Portfolio) Lara Jaggon [email protected] Account Director Ayomide Magbagbeola [email protected] Account Director Steven Pyatt [email protected] International licensing and syndication Classic Rock is available for licensing and syndication. To find out more contact us at [email protected] or view our available content at www.futurecontenthub.com. Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw Digital Editor In Chief, Louder Briony Edwards Executive Editor, Louder Merlin Aldersdale Staff Writer, Louder Lizzie Capewell Subscriptions New orders: www.magazinesdirect.com / 0330 333 1113 / email [email protected] Renewals: www.mymagazine.co.uk / customer service: 0330 333 4333 / email queries: [email protected] Acquisitions Director Sharon Todd Circulation Head of Newstrade Tim Mathers Production Head of Production Mark Constance Production Project Manager Clare Scott Senior Ad Production Manager Joanne Crosby Digital Editions Controller Jason Hudson Production Manager Keely Miller Management Managing Director, Music Stuart Williams NEXT ISSUE ON SALE APRIL 4 Classic Rock, Future, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR, UK classicrockmagazine.com Subscription queries: 0330 333 4333 / [email protected] We rely on various delivery companies to get your magazine to you – many of whom continue to be impacted by covid. We kindly ask that you allow up to seven days before contacting us at [email protected] about a late delivery. Contributing writers Marcel Anders, Geoff Barton, Tim Batcup, Mark Beaumont, Max Bell, Essi Berelian, Simon Bradley, Paul Brannigan, Rich Chamberlain, Stephen Dalton, Rich Davenport, Johnny Dee, Bill DeMain, Lee Dorrian, Mark Ellen, Claudia Elliott, Paul Elliott, Dave Everley, Jerry Ewing, Hugh Fielder, Eleanor Goodman, Gary Graff, Michael Hann, John Harris, Nick Hasted, Rich Hobson, Barney Hoskyns, Jon Hotten, Rob Hughes, Neil Jeffries, Emma Johnston, Jo Kendall, Hannah May Kilroy, Dom Lawson, Dannii Leivers, Chris Lord, Ken McIntyre, Lee Marlow, Alexander Milas, Paul Moody, Grant Moon, Kris Needs, Bill Nelson, Paul Rees, Chris Roberts, David Quantick, Will Simpson, Johnny Sharp, David Sinclair, Sleazegrinder, David Stubbs, Everett True, Jaan Uhelszki, Mick Wall, Paddy Wells, Philip Wilding, Henry Yates Contributing photographers Brian Aris, Dick Barnatt, Ami Barwell, Rob Blackham, Adrian Boot, Justin Borucki, Dave Brolan, Alison Clarke, Zach Cordner, Fin Costello, Henry Diltz, Kevin Estrada, James Fortune, Jill Furmanovsky, Herb Greene, Bob Gruen, Michael Halsband, Ross Halfin, Paul Harries, Mick Hutson, Will Ireland, Robert Knight, Marie Korner, Barry Levine, Jim Marshall, John McMurtrie, Gered Mankowitz, David Montgomery, Kevin Nixon, Denis O’Regan, Katja Ogrin, Barry Plummer, Ron Pownall, Neal Preston, Michael Putland, Mick Rock, James Sharrock, Pennie Smith, Stephen Stickler, Leigh A van der Byl, Chris Walter, Mark Weiss, Barrie Wentzell, Baron Wolman, Michael Zagaris, Neil Zlozower We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic standards. All contents © 2023 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. 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All copyrights and trademarks are recognised and respected ABC January-December 2021: 35,211 Editor Siân Llewellyn Now playing: Empyre, Relentless Reviews Editor Ian Fortnam The Inspector Cluzo, Horizon Online Editor Fraser Lewry Crown Lands, Fearless News/Lives Editor Dave Ling Uriah Heep, Chaos & Colour Production Editor Paul Henderson Genesis, BBC Broadcasts Art Editor Darrell Mayhew Enslaved, Heimdal Deputy Editor Polly Glass Arielle, ’73 Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR) www.futureplc.com Chief Executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-Executive Chairman Richard Huntingford Chief Financial and Strategy Officer Penny Ladkin-Brand Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244 Established 1998


ALL PHOTOGRAPHS © 1964 PAUL MCCARTNEY, COURTEST NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY COPYRIGHT FUTURE 2023 FOR MORE NEWS: WWW.CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 8E 072 - 06 603 ®190 cat no:#312 cat no:#312 INSIDE THE WORLD OF ROCK


Above: The crowds chasing us in A Hard Day’s Night were based on moments like this. Taken out of the back of our car on West 58th, crossing the Avenue Of The Americas. © 1964 Paul McCartney Left: John and George. Paris, 1964 © 1964 Paul McCartney Below: Self-portraits in a mirror. Paris, 1964. © 1964 Paul McCartney Right: Images from the Castle Fine Art exhibition: (top to bottom) Beatles 1 by John McCormack John Lennon Red Gold by Ronnie Wood Lennon and McCartney by Bisaillon Brothers George Harrison by Stuart McAlpine Miller Unseen photos of The Beatles, shot by Paul McCartney between December 1963 and February 1964, are to go on show at the National Portrait Gallery in London when it reopens this summer. Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes Of The Storm will run from June 28 to October 1, 2023. McCartney thought the photos in question had been lost, before he rediscovered them in 2020. The gallery’s director, Nicholas Cullinan, tells The Guardian that the photos will offer a “uniquely personal perspective on what it was like to be a Beatle” at the height of Beatlemania. “The photographs taken in this period captured the very moment that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were propelled from being the most popular band in Britain to an international cultural phenomenon, from gigs in Liverpool and London to performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York to a TV audience of 73 million.” At a time when so many camera lenses were on the band, these photographs willshare fresh insight into their experiences, all through the eyes of Sir Paul McCartney.” If you can’t make it to London for the exhibition, then don’t worry because McCartney will publish the photos in a book, 1964: Eyes Of The Storm, via Penguin to coincide with his upcoming 81st birthday on June 13. The 275 images featured in the collection were taken on a 35mm camera in New York, Washington DC, Miami, London, Liverpool and Paris. In a statement, McCartney explains: “Anyone who rediscovers a personal relic or family treasure is instantly flooded with memories and emotions, which then trigger associations buried in the haze of time. “This was exactly my experience in seeing these photos, all taken over an intense three-month period of travel, culminating in February 1964. It was a wonderful sensation to be plunged right back. Here was my own record of our first huge trip, a photographic journal of The Beatles in six cities, beginning in Liverpool and London, followed by Paris [where John and I had been ordinary hitchhikers three years before], and then what we regarded as the big time, our first visit as a group to America.” Situated in St Martin’s Place in Central London, the National Portrait Gallery has been closed for a £35 million refurbishment since 2020, and finally reopens on June 22, with McCartney’s exhibition its first major attraction. Admission is free for members and patrons of the National Portrait Gallery, and tickets can be bought from npg.org.uk or by telephoning 0207 306 0055. To coincide with the exhibition, Castle Fine Arts have posted a blog featuring their Beatlerelated art. The collection of originals includes works by the Bisaillon Brothers, who have created several works including the band in their Abbey Road period, and an interpretation of van Eyck’s Arnolfini Marriage with the couple in the original replaced by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood has also painted Lennon, and Stuart McAlpine Miller has painted George Harrison. For details go to www.castlefineart.com/ blog/hidden-gems. Meanwhile, McCartney has shared a 30-year-old previously unreleased musical collaboration with the late, greatJeff Beck, recorded in 1994 when the two English music legends were working on a campaign for vegetarianism. Iconic guitarist Beck passed away on January 10, following a short battle with bacterial meningitis. Known as Why Are They Cutting Down The Rainforest? the collaboration features a spoken-word contribution from Beck concerning deforestation and its environmental consequences. The message was included in a 13-part series, titled Oobu Joobu, created and presented by McCartney for American radio in 1994. McCartney says: “With the sad passing of Jeff Beck – a good friend of mine, and a great, great guitar player – it reminded me of the time we worked together many years ago on a campaign for vegetarianism. It’s great guitar playing, cos it’s Jeff!” McCartney’s team has posted the collaboration on the former Beatle’s Meat Free Monday website. He launched the campaign, alongside his daughters Mary and Stella, in 2009 to encourage people to think about the difference they can make to the planet by having at least one meatfree day a week. Beck’s 1994 message highlights the damage caused by deforestation done in order create more land for cattle grazing, as well as some of the harmful knock-on effects. DL The National Portrait Gallery exhibition opens on June 28 (www.npg.org.uk). CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 9 Exhibition opens in June with his 1960s images. And Beatles-related artworks posted on Castle Fine Arts blog. Macca also shares Jeff Beck collaboration. Macca Shares ‘Lost’ Beatles Photos This month The Dirt was compiled by Mark Beaumont, Stephen Dalton,Bill DeMain, Lee Dorrian, Polly Glass, Dave Ling, David Mead, Henry Yates


December 13, 1949 – January 28, 2023 Tom Verlaine Television singer and guitarist Tom Verlaine has died peacefully in New York City at the age of 73 following a short illness. Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey. He adopted his stage name as a tribute to the French poet Paul Verlaine. Verlaine and his school friend Richard Hell formed Television in 1973 from the ashes of their previous band Neon Boys, and they became regular performers at legendary club CBGB. Their first album, 1977’s Marquee Moon, which reached No.28 in the UK, is considered to be among the masterpieces of new wave. Last year, Classic Rock readers voted it one of the best debut albums of all time. Television followed Marquee Moon with 1978’s Adventure, but then split that same year, after which Verlaine launched what became a successful solo career. Television re-formed in 1992 and released their self-titled third, and final, studio album. Verlaine was once in a relationship with Patti Smith and they worked together many times. “There was no one like Tom,” Smith wrote in The New Yorker magazine. “He possessed the child’s gift of transforming a drop of water into a poem that somehow begat music.” Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea tweeted: “[I] listened to Marquee Moon 1000 times. And I mean LISTENED, sitting still, lights down low taking it all in. Awe and wonder every time. Will listen 1000 more. Tom Verlaine is one of the greatest rock musicians ever. He affected the way John [Frusciante, Chili Pepper guitarist] and I play immeasurably. Fly on Tom.” Mike Scott of The Waterboys also paid tribute, writing in a social media post: “Tom Verlaine has passed over to the beyond that his guitar playing always hinted at. He was the best rock and roll guitarist of all time, and like Hendrix could dance from the spheres of the cosmos to garage rock. That takes a special greatness.” SL/DL anThony ‘Top’ Topham, the first guitarist with The Yardbirds, has lost a battle with dementia just two weeks after the death of one of his successors in that band, Jeff Beck. Topham was 75 years old when he passed away while surrounded by family. Born in Southall, just outside of London, Topham formed the pioneering British blues-rock band with singer Keith Relf, guitarist Chris Dreja bassist Paul SamwellSmith and drummer Jim McCarty in May 1963, but under pressure from his parents – he was only 15 at the time – left five months later and was replaced by Eric Clapton. After leaving The Yardbirds, Topham played as a session musician and worked with Peter Green and Christine McVie, and in 1970 released his solo album Ascension Heights. After a period of ill health, he entered the fine arts business and became an accomplished interior designer and painter. He joined the Indonesian spiritual movement Sudbud, and changed his name to Sanderson Rasjid. He had a second spell with The Yardbirds between 2013 and ’15, when he replaced Dreja. Looking back on his original exit from The band, he once said: “Later on, I didn’t regret leaving, because they’d moved away from the blues music that I was interested in.” DL July 3, 1947 – January 23, 2023 Anthony ‘Top’ Topham Thank you… and good night. Lisa Marie Presley February 1, 1968 – January 12, 2023 Singer and actor Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley, has passed away at the age of 54 due to a cardiac arrest. Lisa Marie, who released three albums between 2003 and 2012, married (and divorced) Michael Jackson and then Nicolas Cage and was involved in many charity and humanitarian projects. At her memorial service, an emotional Axl Rose performed a solo piano rendition of Guns N’ Roses’ song November Rain. Floyd Sneed November 22, 1942 – January 27, 2023 The drummer who played with Three Dog Night in the 60s and 70s has died at the age of 80. Canadian Floyd Sneed was the only black man in Three Dog Night, who enjoyed 21 Billboard Top 40 hits. Apost atthe group’s Facebook page said “Floyd broke many barriers both musically and culturally,” and described him as “a wonderful human being, a complete original and a sweetheart of a man.” Dean Daughtry September 8, 1946 – January 26, 2023 The members of the Atlanta Rhythm Section are mourning their co-founding pianist after he passed away aged 76. Asocial media post from the Georgiabased southern band said of Dean Daughtry: “For 49 years Dean never missed a gig until his health forced him to retire a couple of years ago, cutting short his goal of 50 years. He was like a bulldog.” Bruce Gowers December 21, 1940 – January 15, 2023 Sir Brian May has led the tributes to the man who directed the ground-breaking promo for Queen’s classic song Bohemian Rhapsody, stating: “Bruce was, of course, the architect of our video, and quite a few others as well.” Gowers also worked with the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and more. He was 82 years old when he died following an acute respiratory infection. Yukihiro Takahashi June 6, 1952 – January 11, 2023 The lead vocalist, drummer and a co-founder of Yellow Magic Orchestra, who also guested on albums by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bill Nelson and more, Yukihiro Takahashi was a trailblazer for electronic music from the 1970s onwards. He was 70when died of a brain tumour. An online tribute from Sparks said: “We are saddened to hear about the passing of Yukihiro Takahashi. It was an honour to cross paths on occasion throughout the years.” TOM VERLAINE: GETTY; ANTHONY ‘TOP’ TOPHAM: PRIVATE COLLECTION 10 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


Frank Wyatt Died January 10, 2023 Frank Wyatt was the keyboard player, saxophonist and flautist over two spells with the Virginia-based progressive rockers Happy The Man. During the 70s he appeared on their two cult albums Happy The Man and Crafty Hands, and returned for a reunion in 2000. He died after having waged a prolonged battle with kidney cancer. Alan Darby Died January 25, 2023 Geoffrey Downes and Neil Murray led the tributes to popular guitarist and session player Alan Darby, who toured with Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Robert Palmer, Bonnie Tyler and many more. “Alan was a great and talented musician and one of our former Asia guitarists,” said Downes, while Murray added: “Alan played guitar for too many people to mention, and alongside me for 12 years in the Queen musical We Will Rock You.” Brian Cassar March 21, 1936 – December 25, 2022 Despite having been born in Newcastle, Brian Cassar was an early Merseybeat group singer and guitarist. Formed in May 1959, his band Cass And The Cassanovas were early rivals of The Beatles in Liverpool. Eric Clapton was in the group Casey Jones And The Engineers with him in the early 60s. Cassar died at his home in Germany on Christmas Day. He was 86. Paul Fox May 22, 1954 – December 25, 2022 As well as carving out a career as a musician, playing keyboards with Rod Stewart, Mötley Crüe, the Pointer Sisters and more, Paul Fox worked as a record producer, making albums and singles with the likes of XTC, Phish and Gene Loves Jezebel. For the past decade he had suffered from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2012. Fox was 68 years old. Renée Geyer September 11, 1953 – January 17, 2023 Born in Melbourne, Renée Geyer went on to become an icon of Australian music. She had a distinctive voice, which she once memorably described as “a white Hungarian Jew from Australia sounding like a sixty-five-year-old black man from Alabama”. In addition to her own material, she also sang on records by Sting, Joe Cocker and Neil Diamond. Geyer was 69 when she died from complications following an operation for lung cancer. Gary Smith March 28, 1958 - January 16, 2023 Rhode Island native Smith started out as an advisor to Throwing Muses before becoming an influential record producer who worked with Pixies, Juliana Hatfield, Billy Bragg and 10,000 Maniacs, among others. Smith was 64 years old when he died of cancer. March 17, 1967 – January 17, 2023 Van Conner The founding bassisT and songwriter with Seattle band the Screaming Trees has died of pneumonia at the age of 55. The news was confirmed by his brother Gary Lee Conner, who was the band’s guitarist, who described his brother as “one of the closest friends I ever had”. Van Conner was born in Apple Valley, California, and formed his first band, Explosive Generation, with Gary Lee and drummer Mark Pickerel, after hearing Black Flag’s Damaged while at high school in Ellensburg, Washington. They evolved into the Screaming Trees when singer Mark Lanegan joined in 1985. Their debut album Clairvoyance was released via local label Velvetone Records the following year, after which the band signed to renowned indie label SST and recorded the underground classic Even If And Especially When. After two more albums for SST, they moved to Seattle to join the burgeoning grunge scene, joined Epic Records and released Buzz Factory. “Soundgarden were the only other [Seattle scene] band signed to a major when we got picked up,” Van told Classic Rock in 2012. “I think Alice In Chains were getting their deal at about the same time as us.” He played on every subsequent studio release from the group, including Uncle Anesthesia (1991), Sweet Oblivion (’92) – which included Nearly Lost You, a standout on the soundtrack to the film Singles – and Dust (’96). Conner developed a side-project, Solomon Grundy – named after the DC Comics supervillain – during his time with the Screaming Trees, and played with several other bands after the Trees went on hiatus, including Gardener, Valis and Musk Ox. He also toured with Dinosaur Jr in 1990. Dinosaur Jr tweeted: “We will miss Van Conner, shit. I’m gonna listen to his LP [the Solomon Gundy album]. Isuggest you do the same, and think about what an awesome person he was.” FL The co-composer of some of the best-loved songs in popular music, Barrett Strong has died of undisclosed cause. He was 81 years old. Along with writing partner Norman Whitfeld, who passed in 2008, Strong wrote a string of timeless hits that include Money (That’s What I Want), I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone, War and Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home). Those and other Strong and Whitfield songs were recorded by The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Gladys Knight & The Pips and many more. Berry Gordy, whose company Motown Records handed the duo their big break, commented: “Barrett was not only a great singer and piano player, but he, along with his writing partner Norman Whitfield, created an incredible body of work.” Strong was born in West Point, Mississippi, and later moved to Detroit, the home of Motown. After his name was removed from the credits for Money (That’s What I Want), Gordy claiming to have written the song himself, he spent years fighting the label for his share of the song’s royalties. In 2013, Strong observed that his work would “outlive” him, adding: “Once you’re gone, those songs will still be playing.” DL February 5, 1941 – January 28, 2023 Barrett Strong GETTY x2 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 11


Mick Fleetwood says that Fleetwood Mac are “done” following the death of Christine McVie last November. Talking at the Grammy Awards, Mac’s drummer speculated that any future prospects for the bandwere “sort of unthinkable right now”. Twisted Sister played live for the first time since the band’s farewell tour six years ago when they performed three songs during their induction to the Metal Hall Of Fame. Raven, Lou Gramm and Chris Impelitteri were also honoured at the event. Despite Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain’s ongoing feud, Journey played in Oklahoma on January 27, their first show of 2023. The band continue to sue and counter-sue over alleged misappropriation of finances, and bicker about political issues, but the show rolls on. Public Image Ltd will not be representing Ireland at Eurovision 2023. On a televised show, John Lydon and company lost out to Wild Youth with their song We Are One, decided by a combination of public vote, international jury and a national jury. Thunder singer Danny Bowes (pictured) had to re-learn to walk again following a serious head injury six months ago. Returning to his show on Planet Rock Radio, Bowes reassured listeners: “It’s been an endless round of hospital, rehab and physio. I’m not in the best of shape. I won’t be performing any time soon, but my voice has come back.” Although he will try to continue to perform live. Ozzy OsbOurne has announced a retirement from touring. After injury, various illnesses and multiple postponements, the 74-year-old former Black Sabbath frontman has called a halt to going on the road, and cancelled a run of dates due to begin in Finland in May. Ticket refunds for the cancelled dates are available at point of purchase. Ozzy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2003 but it wasn't announced publicly until 2020. Last year he underwent major surgery to remove and realign pins in his neck and back. “This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans,” Ozzy wrote in an emotional social media post. “Four years ago this month I had a major accident, where I damaged my spine. My one and only purpose during this time has been to get back on stage. My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking cybernics (HAL) treatment, my body is still physically weak.” He continued: “I have now come to the realisation that I’m not physically capable of doing my upcoming European/UK tour dates, as I know I couldn’t deal with the travel required. Believe me when I say that the thought of disappointing my fans really fucks me up, more than you will ever know. “Never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way. My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country. “I want to thank my family, my band, my crew, my long-time friends, Judas Priest, and of course my fans for their endless dedication, loyalty, and support, and for giving me the life that I never ever dreamed I would have.” Ozzy signed off with his traditional message: “I love you all.” The tour’s intended special guests, Judas Priest, were quick to voice sympathy over the predicament of their old friend, and also stated an intention to hit the road as headliners as soon as possible. Due largely to uncertainty over their commitments with Ozzy, Priest are yet to tour fully in support of their 2018 album Firepower. “We send all our love and support for Ozzy and thank our fans in the UK and Ireland especially for your loyalty by standing with us,” said the group, adding: “Right now we’re looking at feasible opportunities to see each other again soon and will post updates accordingly.” DL Ozzy Osbourne: the end of the road. Ozzy Retires From Touring The former Slade drummer on being scared of Ginger Baker, stage invaders, and Ozzy madness with Maiden. Don Powell as the engine room of the 1970s’ most riotous live band, Don Powell’s steady drum beats kept Slade on the rails. But his departure left a nasty taste – he claims guitarist Dave Hill fired him via email in 2020. With his new venture Don & The Dreamers, the drummer applies his ageless groove to a covers album of rock’n’roll benchmarks. What are your memories of making the new album, It’s Never Too Late To Be A Rock Star? It was so easy to do. Itreminded me of the old days, when you just went in and recorded. But I had to get used to going straight to computer; no tape machines any more. I’m still of the old school. My stepson Andreas calls me a boring old fart from the Stone Age! At this point, what’s your motivation to keep making music? I still get a kick out of playing drums. I’ve met quite a few musicians where it’s almost like a chore for them to get on stage or in the studio. I’ve always said, from day one, when I stop enjoying it I’ll get out. With the cover of Crossroads on the album, were you channelling Robert Johnson, or Cream? A bit of both. I remember in [early band] The ’N Betweens we played with Cream. In those days there were no separate dressing rooms, so there we were with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce – and also on that bill was Robert Plant. Ginger had his Ludwig kit set up and nobody could move. He looked like a mad viking, so everybody was scared to ask him. I’ll always remember Robert Plant going up and saying: “Er, Mr Baker, would you mind moving your kit?” He just stared at him and said: “Fuck off.” And he did! You live in Denmark these days. Were Slade big there, and are they still? We were. According to my wife, there’s always been a competition here between us and Sweet. She says you were either a Slade fan or a Sweet fan – and they never spoke to each other. When I first moved here, I did a few lectures at local schools. It’sfunny, the first question everyone always asked was: “Do you know Ozzy Osbourne?” The kids have all got their own bands, and I used to get up and jam. Iremember we did Hey Joe, and this fourteen-year-old turned round to me and said: “You’re a great drummer for an old man”. What’s your favourite memory offirst setting out with Slade? It was riotous. In the early days there was always someone in the crowd who wanted to get up and sing.And they were dreadful. But you couldn’t say no because they looked like a brick shithouse. I remember we used to play this pub on the outskirts of Wolverhampton, and this guy was always out of his brain on beer. He’d sing, then jump off the stage and the crowd would catch him. After a while they got fed up, and one time he did his bit, dived off the stage – and the crowd parted. He hit the floor! But that was normal. So, do you know Ozzy Osbourne? Yes! One time, Iron Maiden were on at the Hammersmith Odeon, and it was arranged that Ozzy was going to sing Paranoid – but he wanted to go to a fancydress place first. And what does he put on? A ballerina’s outfit. Pink tights and little tutu. And he goes on stage and the place just goes mental. HY It's Never Too Late To Be A Rock Star is released in March. OZZY: GETTY “My stepson calls me a boring old fart from the Stone Age!” 12 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


“We make real music for real music people, and that’s it.” Since BlackBerry Smoke first came to the UK a decade ago, several southern rock bands popular in continental Europe – including Whiskey Myers, The Cadillac Three and, more recently, Robert Jon & The Wreck – have looked to gain a foothold in the UK, with varying degrees of success. The latest hopefuls are five-piece Hillbilly Vegas, who last year made their British debut with a showcase in London to promote their good-time shit-kicking record The Great Southern Hustle. Hillbilly Vegas started out as a bunch of Oklahoma-based schoolmates before becoming a group in 2011. “My grandmother, a big fan of gospel music, passed away, and I got some friends together to record a gospel song as a present for my mother,” explains singer and guitarist Steve Harris. “We didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did: put musicians in a room together, and eventually they’ll start a band.” Since then, a rootsy yet distinctly song-friendly sound has led the Hillbillies to gigs with the likes of Molly Hatchet, Black Stone Cherry and the Kentucky Headhunters, as well as country-based artists such as Travis Tritt, David Allen Coe and Blake Shelton. “Nothing is original, every band copies its influences whether we sound like them or not,” Harris offers. “We’re a band from the South and we play music that comes from the South.” Harris is horrified to learn that one over-enthusiastic British critic hailed his band as “the new Lynyrd Skynyrd”. “Oh man, that’s terrible,” he says, grimacing. “Skynyrd were trailblazers. They didn’t care if people called them southern rock, they were rock. And if a comparison exists between the two bands, then that’s what it is.” The Great Southern Hustle is actually a reworked collection of the best parts of the band’s previous two albums, Ringo Manor and ’76 (released in 2011 and ’16 respectively), and its irresistible lead-off single High Time For AGood Time dates back to the latter. “Ten of the twelve tracks have been out in America but a couple are brand new,” Harris clarifies, “and they were all re-recorded.” Last November the band played their UK debut, at The Troubadour in London, which brought a slew of rave reviews. “Being on that stage [where Hendrix and Dylan had played], there was such a sense of history,” Harris says. “I was hoping that the audience would get what it is that we do, and they did. Now we can’t wait to come back. We’re begun working on a new album and really hope to add the UK to the places we play regularly.” Is there a message or political agenda? “None at all,” he says, laughing at the suggestion. “I don’t think that just because you have a platform it should be used to impose those beliefs. No. We make real music for real music people, and that’s it.” DL The Great Southern Hustle is out now via Conquest Music. Say hi to the latest new-to-Britain southern rockers. Just don’t call them the new Skynyrd. Hillbilly Vegas “Any time that we’re compared with Lynyrd Skynyrd or The Black Crowes or a band of similar ilk, that’s so exciting,” says Steve Harris. “Skynyrd were very diverse, they had songs like I Know A Little and That Smell. Our albums also go from bluesy hard rock to country, but we’re not a hippie jam band, we write radio songs.” FOR FANS OF... CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 13


According to Billboard, Elton John’s farewell tour is officially the highest-earning tour of all time. Having commenced in September 2018 and due to end on July 8, it has so far grossed a staggering $818 million (£664 million). Elton’s final UK show will be headlining the Sunday at this year’s Glastonbury Festival. Phil Mogg is recovering well from a heart attack that caused the cancellation of a farewell tour for UFO. The 74-year-old singer revealed: “I have been yodelling at Brighton Electric Studios and finishing up some tunes for a Moggish [solo] album, an eccentric collection of songs that will be in my spring collection and which will put some lead in your pencil. Ho ho!” Ronnie Romero has revealed that after internet criticism of his performances as the singer with Blackmore’s Rainbow he contemplated taking of his own life not once but twice. “I was paying too much attention to what people were [saying] about me,” he admits. “From that point, I needed to release a little bit on social media.” As a prequel to this summer’s symphonic tour (see page 100 for dates), on March 31 The Who (pictured) release a live album recorded with a 50-piece orchestra in 2019. The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley is available as a yellow, orange & red three-LP set, triple black vinyl, and twoCD + Blu-ray set. DALTON Riflessioni Idea D’infinito, 1973, Music Superstereo De Luxe, Italy. £2,500. Dalton were a heavy prog band from Italy, who were active from ’72 to ’79, and released two albums and two singles. Riflessioni Idea D’infinito, their debut album, is a much-coveted rarity, having been initially released only in small quantities. At a time when the progressive scene in Italy was bursting with talented artists and releases, it was inevitable that many would go under the radar. Dalton were seemingly one of those, despite their longevity and obvious talent. Dalton’s bluesy hard-rock style had elements of Sabbath and Heep, and classical and folk leanings. Although very much a progressive album, it doesn’t stray too far down the mind-boggling avenues of technicality often associated with many Italian proggers of the period. Instead they deliver competent tunes, enhanced by use of Mellotron and Moog synthesiser, giving the music an otherworldly feel. The use of flute may draw comparisons to Tull and Focus, but ultimately they maintain their own sense of identity. Vocals are shared between all five band members, who often harmonise. Opener Idea D’Infinito is perhaps the most typical track on the album, combining all elements previously mentioned. Riflessioni is a more upbeat instrumental, while Um Bambino, Un Uomo, Un Vecchio is a lighter baroque-pop affair with harpsichord and piano, and Dimensione Lavoro is goodtime boogie-prog. With a running time of 28-minutes and songs averaging around the four-minute mark, the album certainly isn’t drawn out, and is enjoyable from start to finish. LD Riches from the rock underground After a bitter divorce, the band return with a new album, with several former members returning to the fold. Delain Back in 2020, Dutch symphonic-metal veterans Delain seemed to be on the verge of extinction. Drained by covid and locked in a tortuous power struggle over the band’sfuture, founder member and main songwriter Martijn Westerholt even discussed selling Delain as a businessto hisformer bandmates. Negotiations collapsed, and a very public split followed in early 2021. Westerholt has now relaunched the band with a new singer, Romania-born Diana Leah, and a rebooted line-up including several ex-members. Dark Waters, their mighty seventh album, is released this month. We spoke to Westerholt to find out more. Delain are back after a turbulent few years.How was the pandemic lockdown for you? I had quite a roller-coaster, with the split from the previous line-up. And then also covid hit. But actually, for me that was kind of a blessing, weirdly enough, because it gave me time to recuperate. It also gave us time to really explore properly if we could continue with the previous line-up. Sadly that did not work out, but it did give me time and space to see if life could continue after death. You are the sole survivor from the previous Delain line-up. Amicable separation, or bitter divorce? A very bitter divorce, I have to say, sadly. We worked the way we worked for fifteen years. And then because of the success, and me being responsible in the end for everything, I got into burn-out. The other guys simply wanted to take over the band, that’s what it boiled down to. I’m not saying they’re bad and I’m good, because everybody has their perspective. They probably had their reasons. But yeah, for me that was terrible. The band are now reborn, but presumably for a while you believed Delain had no future. Yes. But I’m blessed with knowing a lot of musicians, and they all told me: “You have to continue this.” So I thought about it. Ithought there needed to be enough Delain DNA in the music. Delain has a strong past working with guests, so firstly I thought I would continue as a solo project. But then the funny thing is, ex-members returned to continue the band. Most musicians, when they’re about thirty, reach this kind of crossroads: “Am I going to be a full-time musician? Am I going to have a family?” That’s why they left. But now they are ten years older and settled and the kids are growing up. So they returned. Then it was clear for me: we can continue as a band. Does the new album have an overall theme or narrative for you? Yes. Because Delain came back from pretty deep, we were in dark waters and it was a question if we would ever emerge again. You can see some of that imagery in the video for Beneath; you see this girl being brought back to the surface. Dark Waters is full of huge, shiny, emometal anthems. Was it a conscious choice to sound more melodic and pop-friendly? Actually, with every album I tell myself it has to be harder, tougher, more metal. Ha! I’m gonna sound a little bit hippie now, but the river of creativity takes you wherever it takes you. As long as it comesfrom the heart, you know? I don’t want to be too analytical about it. Music is emotion. SD Dark Waters is out now via Napalm Records. ‘Elements of Sabbath and Heep, and classical and folk leanings.’ “Delain came back from pretty deep, we were in dark waters.” 14 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


Astonishing but true: Black Sabbath - The Ballet, a brand new setting for the music of Black Sabbath, begins a five-date run at Birmingham Hippodrome on September 23, with further bookings to be announced at Plymouth’s Theatre Royal and Sadler’s Wells in London. “I’d never imagined pairing Black Sabbath with ballet,” says former Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, “but it’s got a nice ring to it!” Iron Maiden, Soundgarden, Kate Bush, Willie Nelson, The White Stripes, Rage Against The Machine, Sheryl Crow and Joy Division/ New Order are among the eligible names to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame this year. The HOF recently issued a new ‘mission statement’, explaining that it “celebrates the sound of youth culture and honours the artists whose music connects us all”. Metallica (pictured) will launch their new album 72 Seasons with a worldwide listening party in cinemas on April 13, the day before the album is released. Tickets for these surround-sound events, which also include exclusive videos and interviews, go on sale on March 2 at metallica.film Ian Hunter has put together a stellar cast of contributors for his new album, titled Defiance Part 1, released on April 21 via Sun Records. Slash, Duff McKagan, Joe Elliott, Brad Whitford, Billy Gibbons, Ringo Starr and Taylor Hawkins are among those who appear on the record. Craig Finn on revolution tourists, desperate characters being good for storytelling, and exploitation. The Hold Steady “Two records ago we made Thrashing Thru The Passion,” The Hold Steady singer Craig Finn explains, “a record that was very piecemeal, putting out the songs as we recorded them and then compiling them when we had enough for an album. The last one, Open Door Policy [2021], we said let’s make an album, and this seemed like an extension of that.” Taking a similar companion-piece approach as their celebrated 2006-08 era of Boys And Girls In America and Stay Positive, The Hold Steady’s ninth album, The Price Of Progress, revisited its precursor’s studio and has the same producer (Josh Kaufman), but brings fresh tones of funk and psych-rock to their ever-raging bar-band party – as well as an air of modern desperation to its stories of postrehab rockers, arguing drifters and revolution tourists. Grand Junction, the new album’s opener, is about a couple driving with no plan, in search of meaning and belonging. Are you still living a life that adventurous? My joke is that if they were all about my own life there’d be a lot more going to the grocery store. The solo records I’ve done have allowed me to do smaller stories about people who are maybe more like myself and a little more vulnerable. But when The Hold Steady gets together and there’s big guitars and big drums, the stories I want to tell are bigger. What draws you to so many lost and broken characters? Desperate characters make sudden moves, which makes them useful in storytelling. Alot of the people on this record are being squeezed by the late-stage capitalism. They’re people that are interfacing with the way we survive in a capitalist world, and they’re being squeezed by things like inflation or income inequality. There are sharp political diversions too – the tourist protagonists in The Birdwatchers seem to end up in some kind of private militia. On the B-side of this record we start to see a little bit of revolution, which may or may not be a natural place to extend the notion of late-stage capitalism. In The Birdwatchers there’s this idea of people going to another country, maybe an island nation, to check out a revolution under the guise of being ecological tourists. And Distortions Of Faith is quite withering about performers who play in corrupt nations for millions. That was the idea. A pop star goes and performs for a dictator, and the people tear down the stage and she and her entourage barely make an escape at the airstrip. A metaphor for the rich capitalist West exploiting poor countries? Yeah. It seems like, instead of bread or water, here’s a concert by a pop star. We also visit the regular Hold Steady song setting of a bar where you blag tickets, at the door a seductive girl gives you drugs, and you hang out with the band all night. Where is this and how can we get involved? It’s in Brooklyn. When we started this band, I kept imagining this band we could start that was a bar band that was actually kind of cool. So I always had this idea of the band in the corner being a part of the story, and maybe that’s us. MB The Price of Progress is out March 31 via Positive Jams/Thirty Tigers. SCOTT IAN: WILL IRELAND; THE HOLD STEADY: SHERVIN LAINEZ/PRESS MY FIRST LOVE “If I had to choose, the greatest album would probably be Kiss Alive!, just because of what it means to me and the influence that it’s had on my life. For me as a kid, Kiss was just the biggest influence on me as far as moving ahead in my life was concerned and knowing what I wanted to do with my life, which was play guitar in a band. Because of that album, that’s why anyone gives a shit about anything I have to say or do, because Kiss Alive! put me on that path of wanting to be a guy in a band. “It just connected with me in a really strong way back in 1975. I loved the songs, I loved the look, and as a kid who was into comic books and horror, it was drugs for me as an eleven-year-old. It was the perfect place, perfect time for me to hear and see something like that. And they’re still one of the biggest bands in the world, so I guess it worked! I’m friends with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley and Peter Criss now. I’ve known Gene for thirty years, and he’s well aware of what Kiss means to me.” KISS ALIVE! By Scott Ian The Anthrax guitarist reflects on the lasting impact on him of an iconic live album. “On the B-side of this record we start to see a little bit of revolution.”


“I’m taking my influences from people who’ve been influenced by the pioneers of blues.” Laura Cox Last summer, Laura Cox opened for Kiss in torrential rain. Lightning flashed through the downpour, leaving the French festival site flooded. For a while it looked as though no one would play, until organisers U-turned, and Cox and her band found themselves hastily unloading their gear in the mud, hoping they weren’t heading into mortal danger. Happily their set went well. Afterwards they legged it to shelter, leaving the crowd pumped for their headliners. Or at least that was the plan. But Kiss remained in their truck. “The fans were completely crazy,” Cox recalls. “And then the organisers came on stage saying: ‘Sorry, you can go home now.’” Moments like this reflect the whirlwind of change that 32-yearold Parisienne Cox has been through. Her third album, Head Above Water, marks the peak of that change, swirling the classic rock, blues and countrified sounds that have long been part of her repertoire. It was written largely in Portugal, where Cox escaped to during lockdown, meeting new people and broadening her outlook in the process, all of which feeds into the lyrics. “For example, I used to be just in a guy’s world going on tour, so I used to hear sexist jokes, but it was normal. Now, if some guys are making jokes that are not funny, I’m saying something.” One of the first YouTube guitarists to build a serious following (her channel, started in 2006, was among the first of its kind), Cox spent her first eight guitar-playing years entirely in her bedroom, playing instrumental classic rock covers, and eventually singing her own songs. Compared to today’s social media landscape, where shredder channels seem to proliferate by the hour, it was a different world. “Everything was simpler back then,” she reflects. “I stayed with the same video-editing skills. And I think I was lucky, because I arrived at a time [when] I think it was the right combination; the right timing, a bit of luck, hard work, motivation.” Initially Cox studied architecture, but switched to a soundengineering course when the call of the guitar proved too strong. Periods of work in a rehearsal studio and a guitar shop followed, until she was able to pursue music professionally. In 2013 she played her first gig. By that point she had several million YouTube views, but zero live experience. The pressure was huge. “I thought: ‘This is my first gig ever. I cannot mess it up.’ It was not horrible, but it was not the best show of my life either. I think we were so stressed that we played the songs really, really fast!” Almost 10 years later she’s an official Gibson artist, gearing up for a solo tour and enjoying the respect of her peers – who, at this point, are as exciting to her as the veterans (GN’R, the Stones, AC/DC…) that got her started. “I’m really happy to be followed [online] by people I listen to,” she enthuses, “like Black Stone Cherry, Tyler Bryant, Rival Sons and bands like this.” PG Head Above Water is out now via earMusic. Say bonjour to the French YouTube starturned-bona fide rock contender. Laura Cox “It’s a mix of blues and rock influences,” Cox says of Tyler Bryant’s Wild Child. “I sent him a little jam I was doing over one of his songs, and we started talking. I love his music. I never listened to traditional classic blues the way he does, but I’m taking my influences from people who’ve been influenced by the pioneers of blues, like Tyler has.” FOR FANS OF... © LETURK/PRESS CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 19


GETTY JELLYFISHVEVO/UMG (ON BEHALF OF EMI) J ellyfish were the right band at the wrong time. Their first single, The King Is Half-Undressed, in 1991, sounded like The Beatles, Queen and ELO rolled into one – a baroquerock blitz that should have made them huge right out of the gate. But in 1990 they arrived on a scene that was ruled by two trends: boy bands and grunge. “Not only did we not fit with the sounds of the time,” Roger Manning Jr. tells Classic Rock, “but it was very clear that what Andy [Sturmer] and I enjoyed writing and collaborating on, our sound and vision, was going further and further away from our generation at that time. But we didn’t really care about scenes. For us, it always came down to the song.” Manning and Sturmer met in high school in San Francisco, bonding over record collections and a love of 60s melodic pop. Their first band together, Beatnik Beatch, got signed to Atlantic, then “quickly got lost in the shuffle”. From the wreckage, the two friends formed the nucleus of Jellyfish. Of their early days, Manning recalls: “I was working sales at a music store in Haight-Ashbury. I dreaded it, but at least I could make enough to pay for the closet I was living in for a few hundred a month. It was a starving-artist, eye-on-the-prize, but pretty humiliating existence. But it happened to be an existence set in the basement of a recording studio.” Following the lead of studio-hermit artists such as Talking Heads and Tears For Fears, the pair started logging every spare moment demo-ing their songs and learning about recording. “We got used to being these lone guns,” Manning says. “A lot of our heroes talked about getting record deals through the demo process, not through playing the club circuit and getting discovered by some record company scout. It was more like, figure out how to make the best-sounding demo you can with the equipment you have, and that’s what’ll seal the deal. “That’s what we believed in,” Manning continues. “We didn’t really have a choice, because we didn’t have a band yet. So we taught ourselves all the technology.” Along with their technical forays, the friends were constantly composing. The King Is Half-Undressed began with a verse idea that Manning says was sparked by his brief stint playing keyboards with the Paisley Underground band The Corsairs. “They were led by Alan Shalby, who was just this wunderkind. A surfer, a car mechanic and an incredible songwriter. He was like a Beach Boy out of the sixties, but in the late eighties. He was also the big brother I never had to kick my ass creatively. He encouraged me. It was more education than I’d received in any course in music school. “So I started The King Is Half Undressed literally just copping this verse feel that Alan had in one of his songs. Of course, I changed the chords and melody. I was very excited about it, and brought it to Andy. In fifteen minutes we finished the chorus together. He came up with that repetitive melodic pattern, and we justsat there, streamlining it. We were both like: ‘Wow, that’s solid!’” The evocative title, a play on Hans Christian Andersen’s folktale The Emperor’s New Clothes, inspired a free-associative lyric from Sturmer. In 1993 he told me: “As a lyricist, I try not to edit myself, because Ithink when you do that kind of Kerouactype of writing, just blurting things out, that’s the real window to your psyche. It’s like speaking in tongues, and you’ll hit on certain phrases that really resonate. And it’s funny, a lot of people will come up to me quoting some lyric back to me, a line that I wouldn’t have thought would make sense to anybody, and it touches them in some way. The King Is Half-Undressed has an element of that.” Their demo served as a blueprint for the recording, with two changes. “Our producer Albhy Galuten suggested we try a different feel on the verse,” says Manning, “which led Andy to come up with that Tomorrow Never Knows-type groove. It was intense to watch him perform that live. It was quite athletic. And then Jason [Falkner, guitar] came up with the idea for the vocal interlude section, with those Crosby, Stills And Nash cluster-type harmony vocals. That really sealed it for me. Then we wanted a further departure, where the song came down to almost nothing before we return to the chorus out. ” The end result was insanely catchy, but, at four minutes and with tempo shifts, a challenging spin for radio. “Every song on [Jellyfish’s 1990 debut album] Bellybutton was completely irrelevant to what was currently going on in commercial music,” Manning says with a laugh. “But all the songs are single-worthy. We were adamant about having a chorus that was some kind of ear worm. The label got behind it. So did MTV. So initially the song came out guns blazing.” The single made the UK Top 40 and got college radio play in the States. Now included in When These Memories Fade, a singles box set, The King Is Half-Undressed is part of the story of a late-lamented band whose two-year, two-album legacy grows stronger every year. The reclusive Sturmer now writes music for cartoons and Japanese pop bands. Manning is more visible as a member of Beck’s band and The Lickerish Quartet (with ex-Jellyfish members Tim Smith and Eric Dover). Looking back on Jellyfish’s brief but indelible moment, Manning says: “There was never any intention of disbanding as early as we did. Circumstances force you to make choices; there are always forks in the road. We couldn’t hold it together personally. I’m amazed that we got the attention of as many people as we did.” When These Memories Fade is out now via New Land +. How the paisley underground and a classic fairy tale inspired the West Coast quartet’s catchy first single. Jellyfish The King Is Half-Undressed Words: Bill DeMain TALKING POINTS “We tried to capture the loose cartoon Saturday-morning kids TV show-meets-Alice Cooper aspect of the band,” Manning says of the song’s video. With fruit and flowers flying out of top hats and the band dancing on what looks like the surface of Jupiter, it all “seemed fine on paper”. “That first visual announcement to the world suffers from our lack of being cultured in the world of video.” Or as guitarist Jason Falkner put it: “Some people were like: ‘This is amazing!’ But the majority were like: ‘These goofballs. What is this?’” “Our producer suggested we try a different feel on the verse, which led that Tomorrow Never Knows-type groove.” 20 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM THE STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS


THE FACTS RELEASE DATE July 1990 HIGHEST CHART POSITION UK No.39 PERSONNEL Andy Sturmer Vocals, drums Roger Manning Jr. Keyboards, backing vocals Jason Falkner Guitars, backing vocals Chris Manning, Bass WRITTEN BY Andy Sturmer & Roger Manning Jr. PRODUCED BY Albhy Galuten & Jack Joseph Puig LABEL Charisma Jellyfish in 1990: (l-r) Roger Manning Jr., Andy Sturmer, Jason Falkner, Chris Manning. CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 21


The King Crimson co-founder on choosing guitar, musical influences, band principles and heartbreaking departures. Interview: David Mead Portrait: Adam Gasson obert Fripp is difficult to get hold of. One of rock’s most idiosyncratic figures and one of the chief architects of progressive rock via King Crimson, he rarely gives interviews, and prompts a mix of memories from past and present bandmates. Today he’s the sole remaining founding member of Crimson, who recently were the subject of the compelling documentary film In The Court Of The Crimson King: King Crimson At 50. Now, with Crimson on another hiatus, Fripp has thrown himself into other things. Last year he reissued his 1979 solo album Exposure. He and wife Toyah Wilcox have continued to delight and confound with their Sunday Lunch streams; a surreal, unprecedented dive into the daft for a man with a reputation as serious, impenetrable. But where did it all begin? How did you become interested in music – and the guitar – in the first place? At age eleven my sister and I bought two records: Rock With The Caveman by Tommy Steele, and Don’t Be Cruel by Elvis Presley. There weren’t any English rock musicians, they were all jazzers – old men, basically. In America it was entirely different. There was nothing demeaning about playing rock music and moving out of blues. Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry, the sheer power of Jerry Lee Lewis. At thirteen, trad jazz came along. I would go down to the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth and see all the characters: Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Monty Sunshine… It segued into The Beatles and 1960s English rock instrumentals. When I was seventeen I saw The Outlaws at a show in Poole, with Ritchie Blackmore. He was then eighteen. He was phenomenal. He had the music, he had the playing, it was astonishing. Was there an influence on you musically from listening to classical music? I began listening to the Bartók String Quartet and Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring. The turning point in my musical, and I suppose personal, life was something like ‘music is one’. I didn’t hear separate categories, I heard music as if it was one musician speaking in a variety of dialects. There isn’t a great deal of blues influence in your playing. Why didn’t I become a blues guitarist? Probably because I wasn’t a very good blues guitarist. The thing is, a lot of young players, and some established players, have said to me: “I only wanted to be like Clapton.” They didn’t say it, but you knew it. That wasn’t my aim. Stunning player, but… The question eventually became formulated for me as: “What would Hendrix sound like playing the Bartók String Quartets?” In 1969 the major musical influences in Crimson were [multi-instrumentalist] Ian McDonald and [drummer] Michael Giles. How did McDonald and Giles’s influence connect with you in Crimson’s early days? In the studio recording [debut album] In The Court Of The Crimson King, they would make a comment, [and] I would adjust my response to sit in accord with theirs. Then when they left it was heartbreaking for me, because although Giles wasn’t a writer his contributions to the arrangements and direction were stunning. My primary role for In the Court in Crimson in 1969, as I saw it, was to come up with guitar parts that supported the writing. Although you could say that McDonald and [lyricist Peter] Sinfield were the main writers, you can’t really exclude anyone from that; it was five people. For me, Crimson has always been a co-operative, which it certainly was in 1969. That led to some turbulence within the band, didn’t it? My personal difficulties with any Crimson musician since have been if they favour themselves or see themselves as somehow coming ahead of the other players, or the music. The music comes first, principle one. Principle two: the band comes first. The interests of the band come ahead of the interests of the other players. Three: we share the money. Why do there seem to be personal difficulties? Look at those three principles, and that’s the clue to anything that follows. If the music does come first, then all the names are there at the top. We shared the record royalties, we shared the publishing royalties. Last year’s Exposure box set includes Steven Wilson remixes of your solo material. As with the Crimson remixes he’s done, they’re remarkably faithful to the originals. Steven’s aim was very faithfully to reproduce the original but with modern technology. There had been the odd discussions. For example, with Lizard there were one or two things we didn’t quite put in, and so on. My view on occasion has been that we actually didn’t get it right the first time, so now is an opportunity. Then you say: “What’s right and what’s wrong?” In terms of Exposure, I was very up for complete re-imagining. Steven [says]: “No, this is a classic.” That desk [pointing to an antique writing desk in the room in which we are sitting] is an 1830s desk. It’s a classic of its kind. If I were designing a desk to use with modern things, such as having computers on the side, it wouldn’t be designed like that. However, for me that is the classic and I’m not going to redesign it. That’s Steven’s point of view. Revisiting Exposure, was it possible to see a stylistic link between Crimson albums Red from the mid-seventies and Discipline from the early eighties? Was this an idea forming in your mind during Crimson’s hiatus in the late seventies? Was it Steve Reich? Was it Philip Glass? Was it Robert Fripp? Was it world music? Anyway, all of this, my thinking, my academic interests and approach to music were in place in 1980, 1981, with the coming together of that form of King Crimson. I met Adrian [Belew, guitarist/ vocalist] personally at The Bottom Line in New York when Iwent down to see Steve Reich. Bowie was there with Adrian. We went over and said hello and Adrian said: “Let’s get together for tea tomorrow.” So we did. That’s how our personal connection began. Toyah And Robert’s Sunday Lunch Live! UK tour begins on September 30. See Listings (p97) for dates. Robert Fripp 22 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


Robert Fripp: finding a new audience via Sunday Lunch with the missus. “I heard music as if it was one musician speaking in a variety of dialects.”


Empyre As EmpyrE frontmAn Henrik Steenholdt admits, his native Northamptonshire doesn’t have many local heroes, especially when it comes to music. The band’s pitch as the Midlands county’s great rock hope began in 2016, when Steenholdt, guitarist Did Coles, bassist Grant Hockley and drummer Elliot Bale forged a shadowy sound touched by the anthems of Pearl Jam and Alter Bridge. Now, with the orchestral flourishes of second album Relentless, Empyre are entering their imperial phase. 007 inspired their new album. Obviously they wouldn’t have wished for the lockdown, which broke the stride of 2019’s debut album Self Aware. But Empyre used the downtime to add swooping orchestration to the alt.rock stylings of Relentless. “Metallica on S&M or Guns N’ Roses with November Rain, that’s what we’re aspiring to,” says Steenholdt. “Soundtracks are a big influence – like Max Richter, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, John Barry. If you listen to [new-album track] Your Whole Life Slows, there’s a little ode to Goldfinger, with the trumpets doing that ‘pah-paah-pah!’” They’re proud to be killjoys. You can tell when Empyre have hit the stage, because the temperature in the venue drops. “The bands we play with, like Massive Wagons, are way more ‘party band’ than us,” says Steenholdt. “We’re more morbid, introspective, darker. We have a joke that we come along and kill the vibe. The rules of an Empyre gig are: one, no singing; two, no clapping; and three, no looking as if you’re having a good time. We take a crowd shot after each show, and instead of devil horns, everyone does Italian-style pinched fingers. Even our merch T-shirts have the Grim Reaper doing it. Pinched fingers are the new devil horns.” They skinned Steve Vai. Well, sort of. Empyre are formidable giant killers, winning our website Louder’s Track Of The Week on three occasions, and even scalping shred lord Steve Vai with their latest single Hit And Run. “I’d like to think Steve is licking his wounds, but I’m not sure he’s got us on his radar,” considers The new men in black have survived sickly gigs, killed rock giants, made grown men weep… Interview: Henry Yates 24 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


Steenholdt. “Hit And Run is about going back to the Danish town of Sønderborg, where I spent my college years, and finding my friends had all moved away. There are a few new songs about mental health. With Forget Me, I wanted to write the saddest song I could about a guy who’s made the conscious decision to kill himself. That’s not to say those lyrics are about us. I’d like to be immortal, actually!” They laugh in the face of food poisoning. At the sharp end of the rock circuit, says Steenholdt, you can’t show up with a sick note. “The hardest gig we ever did was a festival just before the pandemic. All of us were in a terrible state. Grant just had his appendix out. Did was on painkillers for a back injury. I’d passed out in the toilet the night before. As for Elliot’s stomach, let’sjust say he did well not to use his drum stool as a loo. It felt calamitous. But the gig was unbelievable. I even hit the note in our cover of Chris Cornell’s Bond theme You Know My Name.” Their music will make you cry like a baby. If you find sweat and tears flowing equally during Empyre’s set, that’s how they planned it. “People tell us: ‘When you played that song, I cried’,” says Steenholdt. “That’s exactly what I want to hear. When I see a band, I want to feel the hairs on the back of my neck, which Eddie Vedder and Myles Kennedy manage to do. As a frontman I want to emit an ambience, an aura. The only bit I don’t like about Eddie Vedder is when he starts ranting about politics. That ruined the last Pearl Jam show I went to.” Getting older doesn’t scare them. The Empyre line-up might be skirting their forties, but ageing holds no fear for them. “Myles Kennedy must be in his fifties and he’s still hitting amazing notes,” says Steenholdt. “Axl Rose is not what he was but he’s still pretty good. And how on earth are the Rolling Stones still so good? The likes of those guys – what a demonstration of how it can be done. We aspire to be like them.” Relentless is released on March 31 via Kscope. Empyre: unlike The Who, they hope they get old before they die. ROB BLACKHAM/PRESS CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 25


I n drab, recession-hit Britain, 1973 paradoxically was the year of glam rock. Of boys who would be girls who would be boys cavorting on Top Of The Pops in tin-foil costumes, 12-inch stack-heels and trowelled-on make-up. All that glitter had come early for Led Zeppelin, however. Already the most glamourous rock group in the world, the astonishing planetdevouring success of their famously untitled fourth album, aka Led Zep IV, meant Zeppelin were also now the biggest. They had already been Number One in Britain and America simultaneously long before Bowie had acquired his lightning flash or Bolan had begun sticking stars on his funky little boat race. And it was Zeppelin who would release the most fabulously outré album of the year, one that perfectly summed up the joyous anything-goes atmosphere of the 1973 music scene. An album reveled in hedonistic pleasures, which they’d titled Houses Of The Holy. The fifth Led Zeppelin album, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this month, it was also their first to have a title other than the band name, and was the gladdest they ever sounded. The most beautifully poised. The most downright colourful and sparkly and infectious. As Jimmy Page recalled: “You can hear the fun we were having. You can also hear the dedication and commitment.” This was peak Led Zeppelin, a band now at their creative zenith. Only the Rolling Stones matched them for musical promiscuousness, as both toyed, variously, with funk, reggae, country, West Coast. Then on Houses Of The Holy Zep went even further, allowing jazz, synthesisers, folk, doo-wop and Asian raga influences to seep into their signature sound. As Robert Plant told me: “By that time the whole thing had taken on an entirely different aspect. It was such a big deal by then, the feeling of freedom it gave out was tremendous. We were buccaneer musicians, ready to try anything. Houses Of The Holy was the result.” For Zeppelin, the newfound glitz and musical frivolity of 1973 had begun as far back as December 1971, when they entered Basing Street Studios in London. Straight from their ‘UK winter tour’, nobody had been sleeping and they sizzled as they jammed together. Page was 27 and supreme master of all he Words: Mick Wall PHOTOS: EVENING STANDARD/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES; KEVIN NIXON MANIPULATION: SAM WILLIAMS @ MAGICTORCH ➤ “We were buccaneer musicians, ready to try anything. Houses Of The Holy was the result.” Robert Plant Released in 1973, Led Zeppelin’s fifth album was not without controversy. It also split fans, confused by its range of musical styles and wondering where its Whole Lotta Love or Stairway was. But Houses Of The Holy signposted the way forward for a band now operating at their peak. 26 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


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surveyed, the light, the dark and everything between. Plant, at 23, was in golden-god mode and, as one onlooker observed, “dripping in pussy”. John Paul Jones was 25, could play anything and was already established as Page’s musical consiglieri. John Bonham was also 23, and in full beast mode. Off the road, a family man, they said. But Zeppelin were never off the road. Young men, at the height of their powers, and several songs that gleefully spun off in different directions arrived all at once, including some buried treasure that wouldn’t see the light of day for years. The mellow, Neil Young-influenced Down By The Seaside and a fully leaded The Rover, both of which surfaced in buffed-up form three years later on Physical Graffiti. A semi-acoustic, cider-jug version of Poor Tom, nailed together by Page, Plant and Bonham that showed up a decade later on Coda. Most impressive, and decidedly deluxe, a cinematic, glacia-paced new synth-orchestrated made-for-midnight extravaganza Jonesy had been piecing together titled No Quarter. “We had little riffs here and there,” Page remembered, “certain constructions. And it was a question of really working on it and seeing how things came together.” By April 1972, Zeppelin had hired the Rolling Stones’ mobile studio and begun recording at Mick Jagger’s country pile, Stargroves, in Hampshire, and continued later at Olympic in London, then Electric Lady in New York. Between times they had fitted in their first tour of Australia and New Zealand, a four-week schedule that saw them headlining 25,000-capacity venues such as the Western Spring Stadium in Auckland and the Showground Stadium in Sydney. The new album was originally scheduled for release in August 1972, at the end of another soldout summer tour of the US. But, not for the first time, there were problems with both the artwork and the mix, and it was eventually put back until the beginning of 1973, by which time the band had completed their second Japanese tour and a long, 25-date trip around the UK, which began in December and continued to the end of January – the last time Zeppelin would ever tour their home country. They didn’t know that then, of course. It was seen as a triumphant homecoming. Zep were now the biggest-selling band in the world, and manager Peter Grant was boasting to anyone within earshot how they would rake in “over thirty million dollars this year alone”. It was now in 1973 that the feeling of invincibility that Grant had helped foster within the band really began to take hold. This was the rock-fabulous age of colour TVs out of windows and riding motorbikes down hotel corridors that Zeppelin and fellow travellers like the Stones and The Who came to embody. No 70s guitar god represented the extreme Byronic sensibility in person though quite like Jimmy Page. For those who knew him, it was still just possible to see the real guy behind the image. But as the next few years skittered and jolted by, the mask would become harder and harder for him to peel off. While both Bonham and Plant invested in farmhouse estates in the country, Page flitted between his newly acquired 18th-century manor in Sussex, Plumpton Place, complete with moat and terraces off into lakes, and flying visits to Aleister Crowley’s infamous former abode, Boleskine House in the Scottish Highlands, intent on furthering his ‘studies’ into the occult. It was as though, having conquered this world, Page and Zeppelin now looked for dominion over the next. Finally released in March 1973, Houses Of The Holy, in common with its illustrious predecessor, came with no writing on the sleeve, but an inner bag with full lyric sheet for the first time plus attendant info, all in the same enigmatic typeface as used for the track-listing on Zep IV, the album’s title stencilled at the top of each page – for side two, back to front, as if in a mirror. There was also a paper band wrapped around the outer sleeve – a last-minute concession to their label, Atlantic Records – with group name and album title on it, “You can hear the fun we were having. You can also hear the dedication and commitment.” Jimmy Page Whole lotta Les: Page gives it some six-string stick. Spirits in the sky: boarding and (below) on board Zep’s private plane, given the name The Starship, used on the ’73 US tour. GETTY x3 28 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


to be taken off and binned after purchase. The image that adorned the outer gatefold sleeve was their most arresting yet: a view from behind of 11 naked children (who turned out to be a single brother and sister, their images multiplied in the photographer’s dark room) ascending a cratered hilltop slope. The inside appeared to depict a human sacrifice, one of the children being held aloft in the distance by an older, naked male figure as the sun’s rays begin to crest over the hills. An echo, perhaps, of Crowley’s symbolic sacrifice of the inner child. Few critics at the time picked up on the occult references, preferring to dwell, as one writer put it, on its “naughty overtones… naked little girls clambering up a mountain, a sexual representation of pre-sexual people”. “I wouldn’t have looked at it that way at all,” Page responded tetchily. “Children are houses of the holy; we’re all houses of the holy. I don’t see how that’s naughty.” In fact, the Houses Of The Holy sleeve was conceived by Hipgnosis designer Aubrey Powell, after Page had angrily rejected the original idea put forward by Powell’s partner, Storm Thorgerson: a picture of an electric-green tennis court with a tennis racquet on it. “I said: ‘What the hell does that have to do with anything?’” Page recalled. “And he said: ‘Racket – don’t you get it?’ I said: ‘Are you trying to imply that our music is a racket? Get out!’” Powell, who hadn’t heard the music, put forward two ideas: one involving a photo-shoot in Peru, the other a trip to the Giant’s Causeway, the renowned rock formation on the north-east tip of Northern Ireland. Informed that both ideas would be extremely expensive, Powell recalled Grant exploding: “Money? We don’t fucking care about money! Just fucking do it!” Favouring the childrenclimbing-the-mountain idea, Powell arranged a trip to Ireland with the brother-and-sister child models, a camera crew and a make-up artist. Intended as a full-colour shoot, Powell revised his plans when it rained the entire week, and shot in black and white. He had planned for the models to be painted gold and silver, but in the final handtinted images they appeared pale pink, almost white. “When I first saw it, I said: ‘Oh, my God.’ Then we looked at it and Isaid: ‘Hang on a minute, this has an otherworldly quality.’ So we left it as it was.” The inside photo was taken at an ancient Celtic castle nearby, where the crew were “so cold, and so freaked out because it wasn’t working, that the only thing I could keep everybody together with was a bottle of Mandrax [a sedative] and a lot of whisky”. The music on the album also had a certain colourfully ‘hand-tinted’ quality to it, the sound brighter and more effervescent than on any previous Zeppelin album. “That was certainly the mood I encountered when I worked with them on it,” says former Jimi Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer, who sat alongside Page in the mobile studio at Stargroves. “It was springtime in England and the atmosphere among the band was very jolly. Even the weather was really good. Jimmy had Jagger’s bedroom at Stargroves, and everyone was happy.” The album opens with the ringing symphonic guitars of The Song Remains The Same, the first of four determinedly upbeat Page and Plant songs on which the album is built. The track’s working title in the studio was The Overture and/or The Campaign. The overall feeling is immediately one of joyous abundance, excitement at life, the sheer thrill of it all. Plant’s vocals were shrilly enhanced by Page speeding them up in the studio. The chiming guitars were shamelessly filched from the opening chords of The Yardbirds’ 1967 track Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, originally credited to Page and Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty. OnHouses Of The Holy the guitars are layered to such extremes that they begin to resemble the sound of a sitar or tambura. With Plant’s artificially accelerated vocals in such a high register, they too begin to resemble the excitement of Indian reed and vocal music. “The whole album had a very upbeat quality to it,” Kramer recalls. “There was a unity of spirit and a unity of direction of sound. A lot of that, of course, had to do with Pagey and the fact he had a very clear idea of what he wanted. This was one of the tracks Jimmy brought in rough mixes of ➤ ‘It was now that the feeling of invincibility that Peter Grant had helped foster within the band really began to take hold.’ Plant in full-on rock god mode, and (left) with band manager Peter Grant. MAIN: GETTY; INSET: JAMES FORTUNE/ATLASICONS.COM CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 29


on cassette. The cassette was his bible. He had his own studio by then and was always bringing his cassette machine in.” The Rain Song, which follows The Song Remains The Same, was originally conceived as an extension of The Overture, but became a track in its own right after Plant unexpectedly added verses to the latter, turning the former into a smouldering elegy to ‘the springtime of my loving’. It’s an equally euphoric, if slowed down, sunburst of a song, Jones adding exotic texture with swelling orchestral sounds from his newly acquired Mellotron, a mechanical instrument that uses tape loops triggered by a keyboard. It was a favourite effect until then of progressive rock groups like Genesis and the Moody Blues. Kramer: “I love this track, because of its typically esoteric Pagey guitar tuning, but also because of the role John Paul plays on it. This was the album where Jonesy finally stepped out of the shadows. He was a superb arranger, who could conduct an orchestra while playing bass with one hand. I once saw him do that! That Mellotron he plays is what lifts the track to another emotional level. And the piano, which he also plays, is like rain drops. Or maybe tear drops. I don’t think they’d ever done a track so subtle before. That’s the test of a great arranger, to do something so subtle yet which has such power. Quite beautiful.” Similarly fresh-sounding was Over The Hills And Far Away, a climax in a trilogy of crescendoing openers, its signature acoustic-electric dynamic traceable all the way back to Babe I’m Gonna Leave You and Ramble On from the first and second albums respectively. Another feature of the album that Kramer identifies is how most of the tracks have their own boutique ending – Plant’s orgasmic “Oh!” at the end of The Song Remains The Same; the echoing guitar at the climax of The Rain Song. “The best, though, is the coda to Over The Hills And Far Away. I think it was something I suggested at the mixing stage. I used to do something similar with Hendrix sometimes – fade the track out, then bring it back, like an extra breath.” What really makes the track, though, “is that it really shows off the Zeppelin preoccupation with light and shade, acoustic and electric. Plus Bonham’s dynamite drums!” So too, Dancing Days, a snake-hipped, long hot summer of a song, inspired by a slouch-backed melody picked-up during a recent flying visit to Bombay, that finds the Page-Plant axis at its most delirious, all zinging guitars, bouncing drums, and Plant’s voice cooing like the lovesick hippie he still believed himself to be. “By the time they started playing the track with me, it just had the most amazing vibe,” Kramer recalls. “Just a glorious groove! They all enjoyed playing it so much. The way Bonzo played it was what really made it, though. He just found a way to make the rhythm bounce and snap that could not be denied. I’ll never forget playing it back to them from the mobile truck and how excited they all were. It was a lovely sunny day, and there was Jimmy and Robert and a couple of others all sort of linking arms and dancing on the lawn, sort of synchronised together. All dancing and laughing at the same time. I don’t think even they could believe how good they sounded.” However, it was the other four HOTH tracks that provided most of the talking points, ➤ JAMES FORTUNE/ATLASICONS.COM x2 “Children are houses of the holy; we’re all houses of the holy. I don’t see how that’s naughty.” Jimmy Page on the HOTH album sleeve Danger, man at work: John Bonham attacks a timpani. “Have you seen the size of the bloody audience?” Plant and Jones ready to rock. 30 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


JAMES FORTUNE/ATLASICONS.COM Plant picks up another bird: Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, June 1973. CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 31


typifying the more ensemble feel of the album, beginning with the last track on side one, a band composition titled The Crunge, a full-funk parody that singularly fails to deliver any laughs, despite a desperate last-ditch attempt by Plant who can be heard lampooning James Brown, demanding, “Where’s that confounded bridge?” Kramer offers a different point of view, though: The Crunge was “one of those tracks that sounds like it just started as an impromptu jam in the studio. But what you quickly learn about working with musicians of the calibre of Led Zeppelin is that nothing is ever brought to the recording that hasn’t been worked over in Jimmy Page’s mind to the nth degree.” In fact, the guitar riff Page plays had been something he’d been tinkering with since 1970. “Of course, it is a fantastic jam, with Bonham and Jonesy especially really going to town. But the tension is very tightly held. I’d set Bonzo’s drums up in the conservatory and the sound he got in there was phenomenal. Louder than hell! But they all knew what they were doing. And I love all that James Brown stuff Robert does about taking it to the bridge, because of course there is no bridge in this track. Hence the in-joke ending ‘Where’s that confounded bridge?’” Much better was D’Yer Maker, a title filched from an old music-hall joke: ‘My wife’s gone to the West Indies.’ ‘Jamaica?’ ‘No, she went of her own accord.’ Boom, boom! Another band composition that critics assumed was another parody, this time of reggae, it was in fact an innovative re-imagining of the form, replete with grafted-on doo-wop vocals. (The question in parenthesis at the bottom of the lyric sheet, “Whatever happened to Rosie and the Originals?” refers to doo-wop singer Rosie Hamlin, whose 1960 hit Angel Baby had never been followed up, but who by 1973 was with the Blossoms, then working as a backing-vocal group for Elvis Presley.) Reggae was a well-established form in the UK by 1973 – Bob Marley’s game-changing album Catch A Fire was released that year – and Page was a big fan. Kramer says D’Yer Maker is his favourite track on the album. “Those huge drums that kick in at the start are like bombs going off. Christ almighty! Just the way he hit them! What’s amazing, though, is how he keeps the bombs going off while playing this extraordinarily subtle and brilliant rhythm. The greatest rock drummer of all time. It can never be said enough. “All credit must also go to Jonesy,” Kramer continues, “whose bass takes the reggae rhythm to a wholly different place. I could go on about this one for hours. Suffice to say nothing like it had ever really been attempted by a rock band before. And it caused a lot of controversy when people first heard it. Areal love-it-or-hate-it track, which I still love.” The third band composition, The Ocean, which closes the album, was another vertiginously upbeat number that contained their most memorable guitar riff since Bring It On Home and was so clearly a crowd pleaser in the most elemental sense – Bonham in full Bonzo mode, growlingly counting in the song’s pulverising beat. “We’ve done four already but now we’re steady and then they went one … two… three…” Pow! Already a mainstay of the band’s encores long before it was finally released, “this was another one where Bonzo’s drums just sound amazing”, says Kramer. “Some of the stuff Jimmy asked him to do in Led Zeppelin… it was complicated shit and Jimmy would have to run through it with him a few times. But once he locked in, once he knew precisely what he had to play, then he would fuck with it and blow your mind, put in a fill where you would not expect it. “We’d all be laughing because it was just so insane! But we were going for ambient sound. We utilised every aspect of the house and its grounds as best we could. I remember putting a Fender amp in the fireplace and putting a mic up in there. Jonesy’s bass was in another room. Everybody’s gear was in a different room. There was no CCTV, but I put talkback mics all around so people could yack to each other.” He adds that the final line about ‘The girl who won my heart’ is a reference to Plant’s daughter, Carmen, who was three years old at the time. The only studiedly ‘down’ track on the album was the one begun two years earlier but remained unfinished until now: Jonesy’s windswept and creepy piano-synthesiser opus No Quarter, an old pirate saying and a Keith Moon catchphrase. Its chilly ambience – ‘Close the door, put out the lights’, Plant intones solemnly, his voice filtered through distortion – is utterly at odds with the rest of the album, but an exemplary piece of contrasting “The whole album had a very upbeat quality to it. There was a unity of spirit and a unity of direction of sound.” Engineer Eddie Kramer Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, June 1973. Zeppelin were breaking attendance records on their US tour. 32 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


work and another track destined to become a cornerstone of Zeppelin’s live sets, Jonesy’s own personal showcase. Kramer: “I said this was the album where Jonesy really came into his own, and this is the track that proves it. I wasn’t there when they finally recorded it, but they had demo versions of it going back a few years, which I’d heard some of. Iseem to recall it had been a little higher tempo, but that when they slowed it down a touch it really started to take shape. “This is one of the key tracks on the album that really demonstrates that Led Zeppelin could do anything they turned their minds to now – and do it better than anybody else. They were able to really stretch out now and experiment, which allowed the space for Jonesy to come in and do his thing on the arrangements. It wasn’t just his brilliance as a keyboard player or even a writer, it was the subtlety of his arrangements, and the economy of notes that made this track such a powerful statement. Genius!” While the previous, fourth, Zeppelin album had benefited from its huge economy with absolutely everything in its right place, Houses Of The Holy was less about being perfect, more about letting loose and having fun. Not everybody got it. A fact reflected in the exceedingly mixed reactions it drew from critics and fans. Similar to the fate that awaited Led Zeppelin III, which fell foul of having to follow the giant success of Led Zeppelin II, for many Houses Of The Holy was a letdown after the monumental achievements of its predecessor. Where there was general disappointment that the third album didn’t contained anything of the stature of Whole Lotta Love or Heartbreaker, the knee-jerk reaction to Houses Of The Holy was that it lacked something of a similar eminence to Stairway To Heaven or When The Levee Breaks. In retrospect, however, it clearly signposted the way forward for a band now operating at their giddy peak. The days of grandstatement albums like the first, second and fourth had given way to, as Plant put it, “simple fun”. An outlandish concept at a time when a band’s artistic stature was still measured by how ‘heavy’ it was – musically, lyrically, metaphorically. In that sense, the fifth Zeppelin album was a relatively lightweight affair, and therefore, most critics argued, of little real importance. “Several tracks on this new Led Zep album are simply bad jokes,” bleated one typical review in America. Fortunately, not all reviewers were so blinkered. According to short-lived UK music paper Let It Rock, the album showed “increasing diversity, humour, and richness, with only moderate self-indulgence”. ALAMY x2 Fans were equally divided. While Houses Of ➤ “Jonesy was a superb arranger, who could conduct an orchestra while playing bass with one hand.” Engineer Eddie Kramer CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 33


The Holy became the band’s third album to top the British and American charts, selling more than three million copies in the US, where symbolically it had replaced Elvis Presley’s Aloha From Hawaii at No.1, it slipped out of the British chart after just 13 weeks, soon overtaken by its still-sellingheavily predecessor. The obligatory single from HOTH in America, Over The Hills And Far Away, released in May, also flopped, becoming Zeppelin’s first not to reach the Top 50, although D’Yer Maker, released six months later, got to No.20. (As usual, neither track was released as a single in the UK.) Privately, Page fumed at this latest example of critical disdain. Peter Grant decided it was time for a change of strategy, beginning with the appointment, in time for their next US tour, of their first full-time American PR, Danny Goldberg of Solters, Roskin & Sabinson. SR&S were best known for working with film stars but had recently opened a music division, and with Goldberg having been a freelance writer for Rolling Stone – one of the magazines Page and Grant specifically wanted to woo – his inside knowledge made his appointment a done deal. “Most of the journalists present seemed so shocked that we’d done this,” said Page. “One of them said: ‘My first question to you, Mister Page, is why are you giving me this interview in the first place?’” The answer lay in the band’s determination to see their public image upgraded and moved on to the same footing as the Stones. “Without getting too egocentric,” said Plant, “we thought it was time that people heard something about us other than that we were eating women and throwing the bones out the window.” Not everything ran smoothly, of course, and Bonham had to be restrained after a Sounds journalist had affronted him by saying he thought him the greatest drummer in the world, and asked to shake his hand. “I’ve taken enough shit from you c**ts in the press!” Bonzo screamed, before launching himself at the terrified journo, offering to “give that horrible little fucker an interview he’ll never forget!” According to ELO drummer Bev Bevan, an old mate of Bonham’s from Birmingham who happened to run into him in Los Angeles and was shocked by what he saw, “I think he felt he had a reputation to live up to, like Keith Moon. For every one drink I had, he’d order himself six Brandy Alexanders, just showing off, really, knocking them back one after another.” Over time, however, Zep’s new PR strategy worked, resulting in Rolling Stone finally putting Zeppelin on its cover, with an article by their 16-year-old cub reporter Cameron Crowe. Crowe was clearly a real-life fan, and the band treated him to one of their most revealing interviews. Page even opened up about Boleskine House, dropping hints as to its hidden purpose by referring directly to “my involvement in magic” and explaining how “I’m attracted by the unknown… all my houses are isolated… A few things have happened that would freak some people out, but I was surprised actually at how composed I was.” Page went on to say he doubted “whether I’ll reach thirty-five. I can’t be sure about that,” but that he wasn’t afraid of death. “That is the greatest mystery of all.” Ultimately, he whispered: “I’m still searching for an angel with a broken wing.” Then added with a grin: “It’s not very easy to find them these days. Especially when you’re staying at the Plaza Hotel.” The Houses Of The Holy US tour that summer also coincided with a total revamp of the way the band presented itself on stage. The 1973 tour would be their first to feature a professional light show, including lasers, mirror balls and dry ice, as well as a whole new set of stage costumes specially designed for each member. The most flamboyant was Page’s glittering moonand-stars outfit, the buttonless, widelapelled jacket flapping open, his flared trousers boasting three symbols down the side of the leg: the top symbol, like an ornate ‘7’, representing Capricorn, his Sun sign, a bastardised ‘M’ ➤ MAIN ALAMY; INSET: GETTY “[By 1973] we were much more ambitious… We really wanted to take the live performances as far as they could go.” Jimmy Page John Paul Jones: a music genius, says HOTH engineer Eddie Kramer. 34 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


JAMES FORTUNE/ATLASICONS.COM All smiles. And who could blame them. Led Zep in ’73. CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 35


representing Scorpio, his ascendant sign, and below that what looked like a ‘69’ representing his Moon sign. “It’s a work of art, that suit,” Page told me. “Originally we saw the whole essence of our live performance as something that the audience listened to very carefully, picking up on what was going on, the spontaneity and musicianship. And you can’t do that if you’re running around the stage all night. Or at least we couldn’t back then.” By 1973, however, “we were much more ambitious, in that respect. We really wanted to take the live performances as far as they could go.” It was a similar story off stage, where Page was now going three or four nights without sleep and boasting of living on a liquid-only diet. “I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” he would tell me years later. “It was hedonistic times, you know? Butthe thing is the playing was always there. On maybe just a very rare occasion did it suffer – a rare occasion relative to the volume of tours. But we wanted to be on that edge, it fed into the music.” Also joining them on that tour was Atlantic Records UK and European president Phil Carson, who recalls: “The rules hadn’t been written yet. And even where they had, we broke them. Like when the band played a huge outdoor stadium, inTampa, Florida, and there was nearly 60,000 people there, breaking the record set by The Beatles of 55,000 at Shea Stadium. I don’t remember much about the gig other than the awesome size of the crowd. Don’t forget this was for one band, not a festival bill or even a headline act with support bands. This was just Led Zeppelin on their own. I’ll never forget the reaction when they came on stage. Mind-blowing!” The ’73 US tour also included a huge outdoor show at the Atlanta Braves football stadium, where a crowd of 49,236 paid to see them, beating the previous record of just over 33,000 set by The Beatles in 1965. The following night in Tampa, Florida, which Carson referenced, drew an even bigger crowd, making it the most lucrative single performance in show-business history. As the limousine pulled up at the backstage gates, Plant turned to manager Peter Grant and said: “Fucking hell, G! Where did all these people come from?” Speaking with Page about it years later, he recalled how “that was one of the most surprising times. I knew that we were pretty big, but I hadn’t imagined it to be on that sort of scale. In fact, even now I still find it difficult to take it all in, just how much it all meant, you know?” This was the new post-Stairway To Heaven world, where the children of the revolution, the new boogaloo dudes, worshipped and were ruled over by Led Zeppelin. Back when giants walked the Earth, before rules, before consequences, before anyone knew what hit them. For Zeppelin, 1973 was also the year when Icarus flew closest to the sun, the heat generated by the Houses Of The Holy tour reaching its apotheosis with their sold-out three-night run at Madison Square Garden in New York in June – later immortalised in the fantastically over-the-top concert film The Song Remains The Same. “For me, Madison Square Garden was a seminal moment,” Plant later told me. “Until then I don’t think I could ever have imagined something like that, where there was so much energy coming and going between us and the audience. It was like having a dream come true that you never knew you had. Afterwards, I thought: ‘Now we know what happened to Judy Garland!’” GETTY x3 “It was hedonistic times. But the thing is the playing was always there. On maybe just a very rare occasion did it suffer.” Jimmy Page Led Zep on the third of three nights at Madison Square Garden, New York City, July 29, 1973. Their concert film The Song Remains The Same was filmed over the three nights. Above: Tampa Stadium, Florida, May ’73. 36 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


Once red-hot property, five years ago The Answer found themselves out in the cold, their very existence in question, after their then-latest album failed to catch fire. Now they’re hoping that with new album Sundowners they’ll soon be bathing in the warm glow of success. Words: Paul Brannigan Photos: Rob Blackham 38 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


‘ S oul-destroying’ is the term Paul Mahon opts for when recalling how the band to which he’d dedicated all his adult life faded meekly, almost apologetically, into the shadows in the winter of 2017. The guitarist is revisiting The Answer’s final run of shows promoting 2016’s Solas, the four-piece’s acclaimed sixth album. It’s a bold, experimental record, with its hard-rock foundations augmented by Irish traditional music and subtle electronic flourishes. Hopes back then that it might broaden the Downpatrick group’s increasingly selective appeal dissipated when it failed to make it into the Top 40. Closing out the tour as special guests on Mr. Big’s UK theatre tour, a booking he regarded as “a dead rubber”, Mahon was acutely aware that The Answer were nearing the end of the road in more ways than one. “When you’ve been around for a while, you start to recognise when things have run their course,” he reflects quietly. “I was definitely of the mind that that was it.” Fourteen months earlier, when they were talking to this writer on the eve of the release of Solas, their mood was upbeat and decidedly bullish. While acknowledging that the group’s career trajectory had dipped below industry projections – “You need the stars to align,” frontman Cormac Neeson observed sagely, and without bitterness, “and sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t” – they still exhibited the confidence and swagger of a band secure in the belief that their day would come. “We’re not yet at the stage where we’re sitting in our armchairs drinking Guinness and reminiscing about the good old days,” Neeson insisted. With hindsight, though – and we take no joy in pointing this out – Classic Rock’s perceptive review of Solas foreshadowed the sense of disillusionment to come. Ian Fortnam wrote: “The Answer are established as a band whose albums reliably stall in the UK chart’s mid-40s. When Classic Rock’s Best New Band of 2005 picked up their award they expected more than this. We all did.” On the Mr. Big tour, The Answer’s uninspired 40-minute sets indulged with polite applause served as nightly requiems for the four men’s shared dreams. And, as Mahon now admits, the hollowness of the experience only added to a deepening and inescapable sense of bathos. “We scaled some great heights, but after twenty years we were kinda left with nothing at the end of it,” is his brutally honest assessment. “It felt like everyone was already looking to what the next thing might be. It was a bit of a wake-up call: welcome to the real world.” ➤ CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 39


“ Mate, these fuckers are going to come back with an absolute bang!” It’s May 27, 2020, and Mark Alexander-Erber, president and founder of Golden Robot Records, home to Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes, former Whitesnake/Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes, Rose Tattoo and more, is talking to Canadian music writer and podcast host Mitch Lafon about the label’s newest signing. By their own admission, no one was more surprised by the Australian label reaching out to The Answer with the promise of a new worldwide deal than the band themselves. But AlexanderErber is a long-time fan – the label boss talked of listening to their debut album Rise during his gym workouts a decade ago – and the offer prompted frank and open-hearted discussions among the band, completed by bassist Micky Waters and drummer James Heatley, who all now have children and independent businesses. “One of the reasons we needed to take a break was because The Answer has always needed to be ‘all in’. It doesn’t work unless all four members are fully committed,” says Neeson. “Personally, to go from The Answer being such a massive part of my everyday life to it being put on the back burner was a really weird sensation. And it was kinda scary, because it was very much uncharted territory, insomuch as we had never really taken a break from when we were eighteen years of age, so it took a lot of readjustment, from a head-space point of view as much as anything. “But it wasn’t like we took a break because we were throwing beers at each other’s heads, it wasn’t a case of ‘I can’t stand the sight of you any more’. The very deep friendships we’ve built up over the years weren’t ever going to go away. I’m pretty sure that there was never a point where Ithought there wouldn’t be a seventh record from The Answer. But life changes, and obviously Iwould have understood had one of the others decided that, for whatever reason, they couldn’t commit as before.” Their decision, however, was unanimous: let’s do this. The Answer’s first studio jam in three years took place in August 2019, the same month as their new record deal with Golden Robot Records was formally announced. Perhaps understandably, the session was initially “pretty slow going”, as Mahon recalls – “We were at this for twenty years non-stop, and you quickly realise that after you take a long time out, momentum doesn’t build again overnight” – but there was excitement and energy in the room from day one. Another session was held in October 2019, and a third in February 2020. Which meant that when the world shut down one month later, The Answer were in good shape, and Alexander-Erber had already been sent a clutch of work-in-progress demos he regarded as “bangers”. “It felt like the chemistry was really back,” says Mahon. “Maybe better than ever.” Work resumed, sporadically, over Zoom calls. And looking back, Neeson, Mahon and Waters all recall the process being more “efficient” than the band’s traditional rehearsal-room jams. “In some ways,” says Neeson, “even though the process was weird because of lockdown, the lack of time-pressure meant we could let things develop organically. It sorta felt like we were writing our first record all over again, back when we didn’t have a record label and we didn’t have management in our ears or have any of the pressures that come with being a working band.” “We’ve been playing together since we were teenagers,” says a smiling Micky Waters, “so we know what we’re doing.” That much is evident from a first listen to the band’s new album. Put simply, Sundowners, produced by Dan Weller (Enter Shikari, Those Damn Crows) at Middle Farm studio in Devon and set for release (in the UK) by 7Hz Productions on Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17, is the definitive Answer album; the most cohesive, impactful and best collection of songs they have ever put their name to. Neeson says the 11-track record is “the album we’ve been waiting to make our whole lives”, and that sense of excitement runs right through the record from top to tail. You may already be familiar with its two teaser singles – the dirty-groove blues rock of Blood Brother and the recently released hard-funk stomper Want You To Love Me – but they only ➤ Here comes the Sundowners: The Answer working on their latest album. “We scaled some great heights, but after twenty years we were kinda left with nothing at the end of it.” Paul Mahon 40 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM THE ANSWER


Looking forward to coming back: (clockwise from this pic) Paul Mahon, Cormac Neeson, Mahon and Neeson, James Heatley, Mahon with friends electric, Micky Waters. CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 41 THE ANSWER


partially hint at the majesty of the record as a whole. The atmospheric Zeppelin/Stones hybrid title track rolls out with a filthy bass line, greasy slide guitar and Neeson in full-blooded voice; California Rust is a sublime retro groove accented by female gospel vocals; Living On The Line is a kissing cousin of The Black Crowes’ Sting Me (“a chance for me to live out my wildest Paul Rodgers dreams,” Neeson says with a laugh); Get On Back channels Curtis Mayfield; and unity anthem All Together takes it cues from Stevie Wonder and Stax Records soul. The album closes with the fabulous Always Alright, which opens with a rootsy Americana feel (not unlike the highlights of Neeson’s criminally underrated solo album White Feather), then shifts gears entirely (“moving from Chris Stapleton to The Who”, reckons Neeson) with stacked gospel vocals, a killer keyboard vamp and stunning guitar playing from Mahon. Sundowners might well be the best new hard rock record you’ll hear in 2023. “A good friend of ours listened to it with Cormac, and he texted me and said: ‘Congratulations, you’ve finally made your Sticky Fingers,” Mahon says, with understandable pride. “Thinking about it, that makes sense, because Sticky Fingers is the album where the Stones really distilled everything they’d learned, and everything that defined them. It’s also my favourite Stones record. So I’ll take that all day long.” “I think this album has greatly benefitted from us having made Solas,” Neeson adds. “Because with this record we sorta set out to re-establish our core values, but at the same time not play it safe. “Going left-field with Solas has given us a really clear idea of where those core values lie, but also gave us a really good taste for the experimental and given us even more trust in our gut instincts. When we said that we were coming back, we could really tell that people had no idea what kind of record was coming, because of Solas. And we love that, because one of the things we wanted to achieve with that was to shake ourselves out of any pigeonhole. It’s good to keep people guessing, because what we have here [with Sundowners] is going to surprise a lot of people in the best possible way.” On December 3 last year, The Answer took to the stage together for the first time since November 2017, playing as special guests to Black Star Riders at the Planet Rockstock weekender in Wales,where they previewed four new songs from their forthcoming album. “That was… pretty weird, to be honest,” Micky Waters says, laughing. “It was like: ‘Oh, yeah, this is what we do!’” “We went through every emotion,” Mahon admits. “It was nerve-racking, it was emotional, and it probably took us about five or six songs before we could look at one another and think: ‘Right, okay, we’re back in business.’” “There was such an outpouring of positive energy for the band that night,” says Neeson. “It felt special. And the album feels special. With where we’re at in the world right now, hopefully it can provide a release, and energise and empower people the way it has energised us. “I think we need this album more than anybody else does,” he says plainly. “But it feels like there’s a lot of love out there for the band, and hopefully we’ve done people proud with this record. Right from the outset, from the first writing sessions, you could feel that all four members of the band were deeply passionate about what we were doing, and you can feel the collective soul of the band in every song. It’s an explosion of positive energy created by four brothers who just really missed each other.” Ask Neeson, Mahon and Waters what success will look like with Sundowners, and all three are united in the answer: “To us it’s already a success,” says Mahon. “We just want to get out and play it now,” he adds, admitting to feeling just a little frustration that the world has yet to hear why The Answer are so buoyant once more. “Hopefully when we get back out in front of people properly again we can conjure up some of that excitement and energy that we all felt on Rise. Right now we’re all fired up and excited again, and if we still have the same hunger and desire and optimism at the end of this cycle, who knows where we can go from here.” Sundowners is out on March 17 via Golden Robot Records and 7Hz. The Answer: the essential tracks. Listen and fall in love again. COME FOLLOW ME Rise, 2006 That riff! That voice! A signature Answer anthem, a unifying callto-arms that signposted the Downpatrick band’s hunger to kick-start a new wave of globeconquering classic rock. KEEP BELIEVING Rise (Special Edition), 2007 Inexplicably left off The Answer’s debut album (although appended to its subsequent two-disc reissue) the band’s first commercially available single was a brilliant statement of intent, its teasing, bubbling intro giving way to a riff-heavy banger, like Free rewired for a new generation. NOWHERE FREEWAY Revival, 2011 The Answer’s most streamed track on Spotify is a soaring, transcendent powerhouse duet between Neeson and former Saint Jude vocalist Lynne Jackaman. Incidentally, it’s also the Answer song most loved by frontman Cormac Neeson’s sons. SPECTACULAR New Horizon, 2013 Promoted by a surprisingly raunchy NSFW house-party video, the groovy, hooky, infectious Spectacular seemed to have ‘worldwide smash’ stamped all over it. Sadly it did fuck-all commercially, not even when it was reworked beautifully in acoustic samba form for the 2014 football World Cup. SOLAS Solas, 2016 The brooding, atmospheric, trip-hop and Celtic folkflavoured title track of The Answer’s sixth studio album plays out like a film soundtrack theme, and demonstrated that the band could not be pigeonholed as retrorock Luddites. ALWAYS ALRIGHT Sundowners, 2023 The stunning climax of The Answer’s magnificent new albums sounds like Screamadelica-era Primal Scream, The Black Crowes circa Southern Harmony and The Who all at once, and signals that the boys are back in town. “Sundowners is the album we’ve been waiting to make our whole lives.” Cormac Neeson 42 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM THE ANSWER


“ What the hell is wrong with freedom, man? That’s what it’s all about,” asserted Billy, Dennis Hopper’s wideeyed, mononymous antihero in search of America during a memorable scene in the groundbreaking 1969 road movie Easy Rider. Billy – along with Wyatt, his travelling companion, played by Peter Fonda – represents the hedonistic and rebellious cult of youth, endeavouring to survive in a straight and intolerant society. That Hopper, also the film’s director, chose to model his adventuring and idealistic character – complete with a drooping walrus moustache, shoulder-length hair and fringed jacket – on David Crosby was testament to the pervading influence the free-spirited countercultural icon held on a generation atthe tail end of that revolutionary decade. When Easy Rider was released in July that year, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the self-titled debut album from the supergroup trio who would spearhead the gilded Californian scene that would dominate the early 70s, were only two months old, but already the band’s co-founder David Crosby (looking every bit the happily stoned blueprint for Billy on the album’s cover) was considered an outspoken, anti-authoritarian, puckish prince of the hippie era. It was a role in which Crosby thrived, where an imperial appetite for sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll wasfulfilled beyond excess alongside a nagging predilection for contention – through the years, the brunt of his raw distemper would be especially felt by politicians, lesser pop stars and, most notably, his own bandmates. But it was his voice – that rich, mellifluous, gliding expression of his soul – that truly set him apart, endeared him to the world’s greatest talents, and endured to the very end. By the time of his death, aged 81, in January 2023, Croz – as he was affectionately known – was an elder statesman of music, a Grammy Awardwinning, two-time inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (as part of The Byrds and CSN), whose twilight streak of wonderful solo albums more than made up for the wilderness years that preceded them. He was a quick-witted, acidtongued Twitter raconteur, attracting new followers across generations with his honest assessments oftheir joint-rolling skills. His artistic revival, however, was not without its share of personal torment. Beset with health and financial hardships stemming from the depths of his addictions, the mercurial Croz died estranged from the peers with whom he created his greatest works. His freedom, it seemed, had come at a price. Roger McGuinn was wary of Crosby from the moment their professional paths chanced to meet. A folk guitarist formerly of the Chad Mitchell Trio who had rocked the Greenwich Village scene by infusing traditional ballads with a Beatles beat, McGuinn had moved to Los Angeles and hooked up with Gene Clark, fresh from his stint in the New Christy Minstrels, to forge this new folk-rock vision as a duo, but quickly realised the similar tone of their voices HENRY DILTZ/GETTY meant a third singer would be required, and ➤ Words: Simon Harper August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023 We look back at the life and times of the man who, with The Byrds, CSN, CSN&Y and solo, wrote and recorded some of the unforgettable music that was part of the glittering soundtrack to a golden era. “I’ve always said that I picked up the guitar as a shortcut to sex.” David Crosby CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 45


actively began looking for a new member. They found him at the Troubadour club in West Hollywood in early 1964. “This guy is on stage who comes on very arrogant and kind of like puts the audience down,” Clark recalled in Crosby’s 1989 autobiography Long Time Gone. “I said: ‘Who is this guy?’ Roger said: ‘I know him.’ He didn’t want to talk about it. Then the guy sang and I was just blown away. I said: ‘Man, is he good! That’s it. You can’t ask for any better than that.’ McGuinn said: ‘No, man. I know David.We tried to work together. It’s impossible. It’ll never work.’” Crosby had harboured his own folk aspirations, launching his performing career in Santa Barbara as a duo with his elder brother, Ethan, before striking out alone for New York, where he would first encounter McGuinn. Back in his native LA, Crosby approached McGuinn and Clark with the proposal of joining them, adding the sweetener that his friend Jim Dickson had a recording studio they could use. It was an offer McGuinn couldn’t refuse. In the months that followed, the group, under Dickson’s management, were enhanced by the addition of Chris Hillman on bass and Michael Clarke on drums, and their new collective moniker: The Byrds. Their scrappy conception was played out on the stages of California clubs, indebted to the insolent, long-haired impact of the Rolling Stones, until a breakthrough came in the form of their debut single, released in April 1965: a jangly, electrified take on Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man. Suddenly The Byrds were a phenomenon. Their chiming brand of folk rock swept the airwaves as America fought back against the British Invasion. The Mr. Tambourine Man album, dominated by Dylan covers and Gene Clark originals, established the group as pioneers of the emerging West Coast sound, which in turn would surface in the strains of The Beatles’ Rubber Soul. McGuinn may have taken the lion’s share of lead vocals, but standing in the group’s front line brandishing honeyed harmonies through a beatific smile, Crosby was a radiant star-in-waiting. “That was when we started making money,” he recalled. “Then I bought a new green Porsche. That’s when Istarted realising that the sixties were going to be interesting times.” A life in the spotlight wasn’t such a far-fetched prospect for Crosby. His parents, both of whom were from an upper-class New York society background (his mother, Aliph Van Cortlandt Whitehead, was a descendent of the politically prominent Van Cortlandt dynasty), had moved to Los Angeles to follow the cinematographic ambitions of his father, Floyd Crosby – a decision validated by his Academy Award for cinematography in 1931. Ethan, born in 1937, was followed four years later by David, who would grow up on the Hollywood sets his father shot on. “I was always a showbiz kid,” Croz later conceded. Music was a binding force in the Crosby household, where the family would regularly gather in song, with Floyd on mandolin, Ethan on guitar, Aliph singing and David providing his first harmonies. But even these communal performances did little to tether the increasingly provocative behaviour that saw a teenage David ejected from a string of exclusive private schools, and was exacerbated after his parents split in the late 1950s. A new world was opened to David upon being taught a few chords on guitar by his brother, and seeing what delights the local jazz clubs, at which Ethan played, had on offer. “I’ve always said that I picked up the guitar as a shortcut to sex,” Croz wrote. And, sure enough, the budding folkie pursued girls with a vengeance, until his promiscuous proclivities landed him in hot water. Learning that he’d got a girlfriend pregnant, Croz left California, and embarked on the musical journey that would eventually lead to his fateful union with McGuinn and Clark. The Byrds were restlessly creative, keenly exploring different musical avenues in their first few glorious years to wondrous effect. Folk rock gave way to jazz, country and Indian influences, producing the earliest traces of what would become psychedelia. Songs like Eight Miles High, Mr. Spaceman, and 5D (Fifth Dimension) demonstrated the group’s remarkably progressive nature in their sonic expanse. After chief songwriter Clark quit in February 1966, it allowed the other Byrds to flourish as composers. Crosby would collaborate with McGuinn to write stellar tracks such as the be-bopraga I See You on that year’s Fifth Dimension album, and the wistful Summer of Love anthem Renaissance Fair on 1967’s Younger Than Yesterday, but his own works proved a keener insight into his creative development, where enigmatic lyrics, GETTY x3 “When it comes to expressing infectious enthusiasm, he is probably the most capable person I know.” Joni Mitchell on David Crosby Crosby at a recording session with The Byrds in 1965. Love is in the air: Crosby and Joni Mitchell. The Byrds, August 1965: (l-r) David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, Michael Clarke. 46 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM


atypical tunings and free rhythms reflected his penchant for pushing boundaries. Everybody’s Been Burned is the hauntingly beautiful closer to the first side of Younger Than Yesterday, while Mind Gardens evoked the ruminations of an acid trip. Crosby’s songs were innovative, interesting and profound, and gave him the confidence to wrestle for creative control of The Byrds, a power struggle that would falter against the steadfast McGuinn and Hillman, who would often rebuff his material. “I wasn’t real happy about my role in the group,” Crosby wrote of this time. “I was starting to write good songs. I had written a couple of things that made me proud and nothing was happening with them… I had a large ego and Roger and I started having conflicts with each other over material, business, expenses… everything we did was a potential source of disagreement.” Crosby was fired from The Byrds in October 1967. Their arguments over songs had come to a head (the group particularly disliked his Triad, a song about a three-way relationship), while Crosby’s rant about his JFK conspiracy theory at that summer’s Monterey Pop Festival hadn’t helped matters. “It hurt like hell,” Croz would later admit. Around this time, Croz met Joni Mitchell and, astounded by her abilities, offered to produce her debut album, Song To ASeagull. “David was wonderful company and a great appreciator,” Mitchell said in Long Time Gone. “When it comes to expressing infectious enthusiasm, he is probably the most capable person I know. His eyes were like star sapphires to me. When he laughed they seemed to twinkle like no one else’s…” The pair were romantically involved for a short while, but Crosby remained an active supporter and patron of Mitchell for the rest of his life. I t was, in fact, in Mitchell’s Laurel Canyon kitchen that the next chapter of Crosby’s career was born. He’d been meeting regularly to jam with friend Stephen Stills, whose band Buffalo Springfield had imploded in the spring of 1968. One day that July, the pair were visiting Mitchell when her new boyfriend Graham Nash arrived. Nash was the guitarist and a vocalist with English pop group The Hollies, and though the three had previously met in passing, this was the first time they’d formally shared company. Soon, Crosby and Stills were previewing the duet they’d practised for Stills’s new song You Don’t Have To Cry. An impressed Nash asked them to play it a second time, and then again, only this time he joined in, adding a third, soaring layer to their weaving vocal harmonies. The resulting sound was, to all present, immediately epiphanic. “We knew what we were going to be doing for the next few years, right there,” Croz recalled in the 2019 documentary David Crosby: Remember My Name, when he revisited the historic house. Once Nash had broken free of The Hollies, Crosby, Stills & Nash was officially born. Their democratic choice of band name was a reaction to the artistically stifling confines each had felt in their former groups. “The whole idea of HENRY DILTZ/GETTY starting the group in the ➤ “David is gone, but his music lives on. The soul of CSNY, David’s voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together. ‘Almost Cut My Hair’ ‘Dejavu’, and so many other great songs he wrote were wonderful to jam on and Stills and I had a blast as he kept us going on and on. His singing with Graham was so memorable, their duo spot a highlight of so many of our shows. “We had so many great times, especially in the early years. Crosby was a very supportive friend in my early life, as we bit off big pieces of our experience together. David was the catalyst of many things. “My heart goes out to Jan and Django, his wife and son. Lots of love to you. Thanks David for your spirit and songs. Love you man. I remember the best times!” Neil Young “It is with a deep and profound sadness that I learned that my friend David Crosby has passed. I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years. “David was fearless in life and in music. He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world. He spoke his mind, his heart, and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy. These are the things that matter most. My heart is truly with his wife, Jan, his son, Django, and all of the people he has touched in this world.” Graham Nash “We sang together, we played together and had great times together. I’ll miss The Croz more than words can say. Sail on.” David Gilmour “I don’t know what to say other than I’m heartbroken to hear about David Crosby. David was an unbelievable talent – such a great singer and songwriter. And a wonderful person. I am at a loss for words.” Brian Wilson “I can’t begin to say how influential Crosby, Stills and Nash were for me. I’m grateful David Crosby lived, and so very sad he’s gone.” Roseanne Cash “I was honoured to know him and work with CSN. No words for this feeling except sadness right now. My thoughts are with his wife Jan, son Django and the CSNY family. We love you David.” Peter Frampton “He gave me the gift of family. I will forever be grateful to him, Django, and Jan. His music and legacy will inspire many generations to come. A true treasure. I will miss you my friend.” Melissa Etheridge STARS PAY TRIBUTE “He was a giant of a musician, and his harmonic sensibilities were nothing short of genius.” Stephen Stills An out-take from the shoot for the Crosby, Stills & Nash album cover: (l-r) Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, David Crosby. DAVID CROSBY


first place,” Croz explained in his documentary, “was to build a mothership group that would allow us the freedom to do what we wanted to do.” CSN duly signed to Atlantic Records, and their self-titled debut album was released in May 1969. It arrived at the perfect time; the previous year Bob Dylan’s John Wesley Harding and The Band’s Music From Big Pink had signalled a sea change that washed away the pretences of psychedelia and inflated blues rock in favour of a pastoral, acoustic sound that allowed for more introspection – CSN’s sumptuous, intricate melodies and mellow contemplations were to prove irresistible in this climate. On the album, the romantically poetic Guinnevere was Crosby’s, as was Long Time Gone, an emphatic response to Robert Kennedy’s assassination. Wooden Ships, a co-write with Stills and Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner, was born in the chilling shadow of the Vietnam War. These songs, and the remainder of Crosby, Stills & Nash, propelled the album into the US Top 10, sparking a thrilling and influential 70s success story that would be plagued by simmering tensions. Neil Young, ex-guitarist with Buffalo Springfield, was brought into the fold that summer to alleviate former bandmate Stills’s multi-instrument duties, and in August the new quartet played their second gig, at the Woodstock festival. Work had begun on CSNY’s first album, Dêjà Vu, when Crosby’s life was upturned by tragedy. On September 30, Christine Hinton, Croz’s 21-year-old girlfriend and the subject of Guinnevere, died in a car crash. He was summoned to the hospital to identify her body. “He was never the same again,” Nash once disclosed. Croz would later acknowledge that that horrifying experience and the ensuing grief sent him spiralling into depression and a dependency on hard drugs to numb the pain that would take years to conquer. “I got involved in [heroin] because I was in a great deal of pain emotionally and it seems to help you through that,” Croz told Classic Rock in 2006. “What it actually does is stuff it. And stuffing emotional trauma doesn’t deal with it at all, it just festers. Which is what happened.“ Dêjà Vu was an unquestionable smash hit. Released in March 1970, despite the incessant internal wrangling that threatened to derail sessions, and the dark mood that permeated the music, it was certified Gold in just two weeks. With Almost Cut My Hair, Croz sealed his reputation as the consummate hippie, unfurling his ‘freak flag’ in typical defiance. Their supergroup status confirmed, CSNY reigned at the dawn of the new decade and reaped the rewards. But even millions of dollars couldn’t abate the ego clashes that exploded within the group, and in early 1971 they went on hiatus. It was to be the first of many break-ups in their 40-year saga. From their reconciliation in 1973 to their final, inexorable split around 2016, the members of CSNY played in every configuration and to various degrees of success (Crosby and Nash enjoyed regular collaborations). Neil Young effectively severed ties with Crosby in 2014 after Croz made disparaging remarks about Young’s wife, Daryl Hannah. In 2016, even an exasperated Nash followed suit. But in spite of all their differences, all members remained MAIN: HENRY DILTZ/GETTY; GETTY x2 “I let those guys down terribly when I became a junkie. They watched their band go all to shit because I couldn’t pull my weight.” David Crosby Crosby, his son James Raymond and drummer Jeff Pevar with their band CPR. Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Dallas Taylor, David Crosby, Greg Reeves and Neil Young in 1969. Easy riders: Crosby and fiancée Jan Dance, who married in 1987. 48 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM DAVID CROSBY


open to the possibility that one day they might reunite for the sake of music. Crosby’s death means that will now never happen. Away from the volatile culture of CSNY, in early 1971 Croz initiated an autonomous solo career with the release of If Only I Could Remember My Name. The album’s sessions were musical therapy for a mourning Croz, where his songs and improvisations were embellished with the reassuring support of friends including Nash, Young, Paul Kantner, Joni Mitchell, and the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, who played a considerable and consolatory role in its creation. The lush, kaleidoscopic qualities of songs like Laughing, Song With No Words and I’d Swear There Was Somebody There made for an enchanting, ethereal aural experience, but it certainly wasn’t commercial, and the album practically disappeared after a critical mauling. By the turn of the new millennium, however, as Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom’s idiosyncratic stylings heralded the ‘New Weird America’ tag, If Only… underwent a reappraisal that rightly saw it exalted to cult status, and is now considered Crosby’s masterpiece. Nevertheless, after its initial release it would be 18 years before Croz would get his shit together again and record another album under his own name. Drugs were the root of Crosby’s downward trajectory. Heroin had been supplemented by a devastating addiction to crack cocaine, which consumed his thoughts and finances in the early 80s, rendering him useless to his band. “I let those guys down terribly when I became a junkie,” he said. “I went right down the tubes in front of them, and they watched their band go all to shit because I couldn’t pull my weight.” After a number of arrests on drugs and firearms charges, and repeated desertions from rehab programmes arranged by what friends were left supporting him, Croz’s nadir came in 1986 when an unsuccessful appeal for an earlier conviction led to five months in a Texas prison. “Ahorrible place,” Croz told Classic Rock. “People die there. Every day… It was a helluva place to try and kick cocaine and heroin at the same time, which is what happened.” Croz cleaned up, and in 1987 married girlfriend Jan Dance, herself emerging from her own drug ordeal. The marriage lasted until his death, and produced a son, Django, in 1995. Later that decade Crosby fathered (via sperm donation) two children for Melissa Etheridge and her then partner Julie Cypher. But there were traumas to come. Croz was indebted to the Internal Revenue Service, and the impact of drugs on his health was serious. In 1994 he was diagnosed with hepatitis C, and underwent a liver transplant. Ten years later he developed type 2 diabetes. Soon after, he was in hospital for major cardiac surgery. In 2020 he lost one of Etheridge’s children, Beckett, who was just 21 and had been struggling with opioid addiction. Musically, though, Croz was back on track. Aside from the ongoing CSN activity (American Dream and Live It Up GETTY were released in ’88 and ’90 “David Crosby stuck to his guns. A difficult and gifted man. Whose talent and taste was immense. His harmonious voice still echoes in Laurel Canyon. A proud man who said what he said, and felt what he felt with no apology. A brilliant songwriter, and an American Icon, RIP.” Michael Des Barres “RIP David Crosby. As a member of The Byrds, 1 of the historically essential Artists that created the Artform of Rock. The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who, Beach Boys & Yardbirds, showed future generations like us what was possible. We owe him, and them, everything” Steven Van Zant “Sad to hear of the passing of the legendary David Crosby. A part of so many of Rock’s first Super Groups: The Byrds, CSN & CSNY… He was such an outspoken figure (often controversially) but always a musical legend.” Mike Portnoy “David Crosby was the most vital Byrd – by all accounts, trouble to himself and those around him; but the most vivid and creative of that musical tribe. Because David did such a great job in pulling himself out of the narcotic vortex in the late 1980s he seemed like he’d be around forever. It’s disturbing that he’s gone, almost as much as it’s sad: people like Crosby were built to endure, the way their love of music does. So even 81 seems too soon for him to be called away. Rave on, David.” Robyn Hitchcock “David Crosby was among the monster group icons who continued a solo career with the kind of success reserved for great musicians. And he could sing the hell out of a harmony. “He was also a friend to me. He was always, I repeat, always, present for me, to defend my character and politics, and often included over the top (sometimes unwarranted) praise. He was funny, clever, and refreshing to be around. And I was honoured that he chose my portrait of him as his last album cover. He will be missed by millions, including myself. Sending my love to Jan and his family.” Joan Baez “It’s very sad to have David Crosby leave us, but then he didn’t really as we have a half century of his music to keep us warm. He was not only a one of a kind songwriter, a committed warrior for justice and an amazing singer, but also a great friend and the first famous musician to support and promote my songwriting and that of Jackson Browne. So sorry Jan. You are both on my friends forever list.” JD Souther “David Crosby changed the landscape of music as a solo artist and as a member of The Byrds, CSN, and CSNY. I didn’t know David very well but I cherish the one time we played together. It was a huge moment for me to duet with David on “Almost Cut My Hair” and to sing Stephen Stills’ part on “Find the Cost of Freedom” along with him and Graham. I’ll never forget it. Thanks David, from millions of us, for your contribution to the world of music. It is a huge one.” Warren Haynes “What has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together.” Graham Nash ➤ Latter day CSNY at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit Concert, October 26, 2013. CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 49


respectively), he had renewed his solo work, returning with the middling Oh Yes I Can in 1989. In the early 90s, James Raymond entered Crosby’s life. Raymond, the son of the girlfriend he had abandoned in 1961, had inherited his father’s musical inclinations, and the pair began a fruitful and symbiotic working relationship together. “He’s a better musician than I am – by a considerable amount,” Croz told Classic Rock. “He came to me in such a generous and kind way. And has been such a good friend to me.” Father and son joined guitarist Jeff Pevar in a new group, CPR. Although they disbanded in 2004, Raymond remained Crosby’s musical director and closest collaborator henceforth. He wrote more than half and played on all of Croz, the respectable 2014 album that kick-started a creative streak in Crosby, which produced a run of acclaimed albums. The excellent Lighthouse in 2016 teamed Croz with fusion instrumentalists Snarky Puppy’s Michael League who, in his role as producer, brought in vocalists Becca Stevens and Michelle Willis. So impressed was he by their combined talents, Croz incorporated them as The Lighthouse Band, who became his touring unit, and in 2018 played equal parts in delivering the celebrated Here If You Listen, on which their shimmering harmonies and exquisite musicianship were demonstrated to such magical effect. It was later that year that this writer had the pleasure of meeting Croz in person, interviewing him backstage before a show in London. He had such a benign presence – a charming Buddha-like sage on the venue’s leather couch, sharing with me advice on parenthood and hard life lessons he’d learned from his tumultuous history. But behind his warm joviality I could detect a tangible sadness. His lack of earnings from record sales and no CSN income had put Croz in the resentful predicament of having to work for a living at 77. His fortunes, which deteriorated further during the covid restrictions, were reversed in early 2021 when he sold the publishing rights of his catalogue, which saved him from ruin. It also allowed him to enjoy making music for pleasure again, and For Free, his eighth and, ultimately, last solo record, was released that July. It was, Classic Rock noted, “the sound of Crosby finally at ease with himself”. When I spoke to Croz again, in November 2022 for Classic Rock, he was insistent that he would continue sending his music out into the world for as long as he was able, for that was his calling, his purpose. “It’s the one contribution I can make,” he enthused. “The one place I can make anything better, is to make all the music that I possibly can.” David Crosby died, in the company of Jan and Django, of a “long illness”. His embattled body is at rest, but the many, marvellous songs he gifted will live on. The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson tweeted to say he was “heartbroken” by Croz’s passing, and scores of friends, contemporaries and celebrities were quick to follow in paying tribute. A “deeply saddened” Stephen Stills eulogised Croz in a statement that, in touching on their often precarious relationship, revealed that they were “happy to be at peace” at the end. “He was without question a giant of a musician, and his harmonic sensibilities were nothing short of genius,” Stills said. “[I] shall miss him beyond measure.” Similarly, Graham Nash was keen to focus on the positive aspects of their long-standing and testing friendship. “What has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together,” he posted. “David was fearless in life and music… He spoke his mind, his heart, and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy. These are the things that matter most.” GETTY “[When The Byrds started making money] I bought a new green Porsche. That’s when I realised that the sixties were going to be interesting times.” David Crosby David Crosby in 2018. 50 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM DAVID CROSBY


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